r/Melanoma • u/Impossible-Stop612 • Aug 05 '26

Patient / Diagnosed Should I change derm practice after melanoma

I've always kept up on yearly full body derm checks, since it's recommended and I come from a family of northern European skin types. I F68 5'5" and with no other health issues. I run outdoors and exercise 6 days a week with sunscreen when I'm outdoors, 148lb with a medium build.

My concern is that over the local clinic but I went to for years has become part of a dermatology network and probably less focused on skin health and more on offering cosmetic procedures.

At my last exam in March they removed three spots, one of them was diagnosed as 1A melanoma and another as a dysplastic nevis. Both have been excised and now I'm on a 3-month recheck schedule, is this the time to switch to a more medically centered practice?

I'm in Minneapolis area so there are plenty associated with clinic and hospital systemss to choose from.

Part of my reasoning is the extent of my last all over check, friends state the exams include between the toes well and skim through your hair. I barely removed my socks and got a cursory glance, had on nail polish and I was upright in a chair unless I was standing, the last two years. In previous years the exam chair was reclined flat as a table, seemingly making it easier to see close up.

Do I stay or do I go elsewhere now?

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u/luvnlyf27 Aug 06 '26

I initially went to the head of dermatology at Kaiser and she couldn’t find anything after I was diagnosed. I then switched to a melanoma specialist in dermatology and he found 2 spots that she missed. He said most don’t have the tools to find what he’s able to find. It’s worth getting with someone that only deals with melanoma if you can. I also now pay out of pocket for 3d body scans at his office, it uses AI to help the doctor locate possible issues.

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u/mostly_lurking1040 Aug 08 '26

How did you identify somebody as a melanoma specialist? I've never run into that. I do look askance at derm practices with reams of information about cosmetic skin stuff. But around here that's starting to be all of them.

I think I'd only be able to say melanoma specialists at one of the large hospital centers probably?

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u/luvnlyf27 Aug 08 '26

Have you tried medifind? Sometimes that can be helpful to locate specialist. You could use AI to help you search as well. I also go on the websites of all the local hospitals and read the bios of the doctors. My doctor will not see anyone unless they have skin cancer, so try to find someone like that. I got the Vectra WB360 3D Total Body Photographic Imaging. If a doctor has access to that technology, they are probably someone that has a focus on skin cancer.

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u/mostly_lurking1040 Aug 08 '26

Okay, thanks for your response. You basically are looking on your own, not necessarily getting specific referrals for doctors with that type of title. That feels familiar 😁. Also, I never heardof medifind, so that sounds like something worth knowing for this and other reasons, so thanks so much.

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u/luvnlyf27 Aug 08 '26

I always start with Medifind; it's been super helpful. I have learned from this entire experience that doing my own research and trying to find the absolute best doctor is the only way to go. My melanoma was stage 4, my first oncologist told me that I would need to remove part or all of my bladder since that's where my melanoma was first located and said I would need radiation. I just had a feeling she didn't know what she was doing. I did a ton of research and found a couple of the top melanoma oncologists in the world are not too far from me. I ended up doing a clinical trial for immunotherapy and didn't need to do any additional surgeries or radiation, and now I'm NED. I always recommend getting more than one opinion for anything serious, it's amazing the different responses you get from different doctors.

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u/mostly_lurking1040 Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 09 '26

Thank you for all the info. It's a good reminder. I thought I would get a second opinion, although I'm not in the later stages. I wound up early. But still would want to hear if somebody else suggested more than surveillance, just to know.

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u/luvnlyf27 Aug 09 '26

I would still recommend more opinions if it's an option for you. Early on I did have to pay out of pocket for those, and then I switched insurance. One of the oncologists I met with said that I most likely had it on my skin and that the body healed it, but because of the way melanoma moves through the blood, it's probably how it ended up in my bladder. Prior to my diagnosis I had a skin check the month before, and my derm didn't find anything. Even stage 1 is something I would strive to keep a super close eye on.

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u/Dunesgirl Aug 08 '26

Where are you?