Question: Hello! I’ve actually asked a very similar question to this in the past, but unfortunately since I have health anxiety, I’m looking for further reassurance. Twenty years ago (yes, 20 years!), my primary care physician removed several pigmented spots from my back using electrodessication and curettage. All that remains are hypopigmented spots. I have no idea whether the spots were seborrheic keratosis or moles, but all were flat, light brown, symmetrical and none bigger than a pencil eraser. I had seen a dermatologist about a year prior to that and he said they were normal. Unfortunately my doctor who removed them all of those years ago never had them biopsied.

To this day, my anxious mind has me worried that biopsies were never done. I go for regular skin cancer screenings and have been told there is nothing worrisome on my back (or any other location). Today I went to another screening which was hosted by the XXXXXXX Academy of Dermatology. I mentioned to the nurse practitioner who examined me about my worry and she said she wasn’t concerned and I had no suspicious spots. She examined the areas on my back of hypopigmentation and said they were fine. Unfortunately she made a comment that there could be a cell remaining from all those years ago. I understand about how clear margins are necessary for melanoma and severely atypical moles.

My question is this: if there had been anything dangerous with these lesions from all those years ago, would pigment and changes have occurred by now in the locations where they were removed? It’s not possible that a dangerous cell could somehow spread to another area of my body without showing any pigment or worrisome changes in the original area, is it? Thank you for your time and any reassurances which you can give me (I realize that this is a crazy question!)!

Hi Dr. Kakkar!! I’m so happy it was you who responded! Thank you so much! I’ve actually been doing pretty well but every now and then the old health anxiety monster creeps up on me, and oftentimes revisits my old worries! Thank you for always being there to reassure me at those moments!

Your answer, as always, made me feel much better! So is it safe to say that theoretically, if dangerous cells had been in any of those lesions and weren’t completely removed, there would be pigment and changes (probably a long time ago lol) in those areas of removal and those cells wouldn’t somehow escape into other areas of my body without showing pigment changes in the original location? I presume that anything like cancerous cells grow and exhibit the usual visual changes in the location of the lesions and then metastasize? I know that’s a crazy question and worry, but that’s how this overactive mind of mine works! Thanks again Dr. Kakkar!!