Ok, so I went to my PCM today, to have the moles on my arm looked at, and decide what action to take. 2 of the 4 he said leave alone for now, and check back every 6 months. OK, fair enough. The other 2 he FROZE off. These aren't "raised" moles, one was flaking and the other was just a strange shape and feel. Anyway, he froze them like you would a wart, and told me to keep them bandaged for a while until they healed. I assume this means he's not concerned about cancerous cells, but I'd never heard of freezing as a removal method. Anyone BTDT? I was fully expecting a derma-punch, and the freezing was much less painful, so I'm not really complaining, just baffled.

By Ginny~moderator on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 05:37 pm:

Freezing is a common way of dealing with moles and warts - but, did he keep them to send out for biopsy? That's the critical issue. I'm guessing not, from what you say, and that would give me concern, given your description.

By Crystal915 on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 08:22 pm:

No, he didn't remove any skin, just did a quick freeze and covered them. Of course, he wasn't concerned that they were cancerous, which is why he didn't take a sample. Of course, I'm an admitted "picker", and he said both looked like they had some scarring from being picked at, another reason he wasn't too worried about them. I will be keeping a close eye on those and any other moles, and be checked every 6 months now.

By Sandysmom on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 09:13 pm:

Crystal, I've had tags frozen off but never moles. Also, I've never heard of freezing off a mole and especially a flat one. Definitely keep an eye on them. My sister had some moles removed a while ago that were on her arm. They had a white halo around them and the mole started to disappear. I don't remember what the Dr. said about them, but he removed them and sent them for biopsy. Later on, she had to go back and have more skin removed from that area. The Dr. wasn't happy with the biopsy results. Still, I can't understand why your Dr. froze it off. To me, that doesn't sound right. JMHO ((((hugs)))

By Hol on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 11:36 pm:

I once worked for a dermatologist, and he used to freeze things off other than moles. It sounds like what you had was either an actinic keratosis, or sebhoreic keratosis. All that means, in plain English, is sun damage. Especially the flaking. It is just an area of the skin damaged by UV rays. Freezing removes it before it becomes pre-cancerous.
If he had suspected skin cancer, he would have excised and biopsied it.

By Crystal915 on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 11:57 pm:

Thanks for posting Hol. I was in a big hurry during the appointment, because I had to pick the kids up from pre-school, so I didn't get too much information. I had told him when I came in that I had LOTS of sun exposure as a child and teen, I was a beach baby, LOL. He did mention sun damage, and how to prevent more damage in the future.