UMHS Department of Dermatology

Earlier this year I turned 32. No longer just «30» I’m now «in my 30s» so I’m paying more attention to a few things, particularly healthy related. This includes the new mole that appeared on my arm recently. I’m very pale and go from white to red hot burn in about 30 minutes in the sun which means skin cancer is one of my biggest fears. SO, when I noticed this new thing pop up and realized it looked a little funky (darker than the rest of my moles, a little wonky in shape, etc) I got pretty freaked out and made an appointment at the UofM derm clinic asap.
When I called they were SUPER nice and managed to get me in within 2 weeks. Initially I called my primary care doctor and I couldn’t get an appointment there for 2 MONTHS so I was pleased I wasn’t going to have to stress out about it for that long. Since I was nervous my fella went to the appointment with me. The only complaint I have about this clinic is the teeny tiny lobby. It was pretty crowded when we went and finding two seats next to each other proved to be a bit of a challenge. It was like trying to grab a table at a popular restaurant – hovering and waiting for someone to get up so you could jump in and take their spot.
Anyway, the wait to go back was a bit long but not terrible. My appointment was 1:30 but I didn’t get taken back until close to 2pm. The good news is once I got back there I didn’t really have to wait. The super nice resident came in within a few minutes and took a look first, she explained that while it was small, it *was* atypical so they recommend a removal and biopsy. Not going to lie, this was the point I freaked. I was hoping I’d go in and they’d look at it and say, «Ehh, looks ok. You’re just paranoid. Go home!» like every other time I’ve gotten something checked but this time it was not meant to be. She left me to ponder a removal as she went to bring in the attending.
The attending came in a few minutes later and checked me from head to toe to find other wonky looking things or a mole that resembled the new one that popped up. Luckily she didn’t find the former but since she didn’t find the latter either she reiterated what the resident said, let’s take it off and make sure it’s ok.
So, I found myself stretched out, arm up, getting numbed up and cut up. I thought they’d make me come back for it but nope – they did it right then. The lidocaine numbed me up real good so I didn’t feel a darn thing other than the initial shot. I got a little woozy when I looked over before she put the bandage on and saw the hole but it wasn’t too bad. The resident was quick and chatted pleasantly while she did the procedure so I wasn’t too focused on what was going on, which I appreciated. She also answered my fatalist questions («soooo, what happens if it is the big C? If it’s abnormal cells?» etc) and didn’t seem exasperated which I was grateful for.
I was discharged and told that it would be about a week, most likely sooner, before I had my results. The resident told me she’d call me either way which I appreciated since most places say «no news is good news» and you drive yourself crazy waiting until the max amount of time you’d hear something passes. Given I went in a few days before a holiday weekend I wasn’t hopeful I’d get news in less than a week but on Monday afternoon I saw the familiar UofM number come up on my phone. Single scariest phone call of my life to date but I’m happy to report everything checked out fine. Kind of anti climactic in the end, really. But I did have a huge «I don’t have cancer!» ice cream cone that evening to celebrate.
In the end my mind is at ease and I’m glad they were so wonderful to work with. The wound is healing but the bandaid ended up hurting more than the incision since I had a weird reaction to it and it pulled off some of my skin when I took it off to clean it. But that’s it! I’ll have a small scar but it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind.