Abnormal Results

Last week, I got a call from the receptionist at my dermatologist's office. She wanted to let me know that the biopsy results for the mole on my stomach came back "abnormal." Now, I could have told you that that was not a normal looking mole (that's why I went to the dermatologist in the first place). So I assumed "abnormal" meant melanoma. My heart sank. "It's cancerous?" I asked her. There was a rustling of papers in the background. "Oh no--just abnormal," she told me. "He'll explain your results to you when you come in."
I came in two days later and paid a $20 co-pay so my dermatologist could hand me a piece of paper with this diagnosis:
"An atypical pigmented lesion that extends to the margin. Melanocytes, singly and in nests, at the dermoepidermal junction, bridging between some nests, and fibrosis in the papillary dermis."
Well that clears everything up. I feel much better now.
Of course, the dermatologist was on a tight schedule so he didn't have time to define all the dermatology terms and broke it down like this instead: "It's the type of mole that has a high risk of becoming cancerous. So I'd like you to get rid of it--and soon."
But soon was a relative term, I learned, since he doesn't remove these things himself. And the surgeon he referred me to is only in twice a month and already had FIFTY appointments set for her next visit. So I'm booked for the end of March and that's just for the $20 co-pay consultation. Then I've got to schedule the actual surgery for a later date. At this rate, that mole could be cancerous by the time I get it off. Though my dermatologist (or his assistant, actually) assured me it would not.
Nonetheless, I was instructed to come back every three months (for what I'd imagine will be the rest of my life or his) so he could continue to monitor my moles. "This is a wake-up call, you know," the dermatologist said.
Oh, I got the call, I assured him. I understand I can no longer afford to take a trip to the tanning salon or to sun my buns in South Beach (as tempting as that sounds on a day like today when it's snowing like hell and temps are expected to drop into the teens)--and not just because of all the money I'll be spending on the surgery and regular office visits.