Breast Cancer / Melanoma Link ?? ""CHECK YOUR MOLES""

[Lulu34]

Hi mizzy

there is a link with malignant melanoma if ou carry a brca2 gene mutation. But its not a big enough link to warrant screening... Less than 5% of melanomas are thought to be genetic and ony a smallportion of these are related to brca 2 as most are related to faulty melanoma gene... Not heard of any other link that increases your risk just because ou have had breast cancer.

Melanoma is a fairly common cancer so its very possible to have both a breast and skin cancer at some time in your life which are completely unrelated.

if however you have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer it might be usful to request referral to genetics to discuss your risk.

hope it all turns out ok for you
lulu x

[Jo43]

Hi mizzy, I dont know much about any link. I was never any good at going to the Gp with symtoms and was always the type of person that would treat any ailments with over the counter drugs so when I did finally go see my GP because I knew from my mothers BC history that a dimple in my breast needed looking at , I took the oppotunity to ask about 2 moles that had got larger over a 2 year period.
Well Im glad I had really!! as I too needed them removing..... although because of a mix up with appointments Im still waiting to have the 1 on my leg removed. All this should have been completed before my WLE back in june. now im trying to rush appointment through before chemo starts.
Im paranoid about being out in the sun now which is a bummer given that I love to garden and have a large one that needs a fair amount of maintanining.
Good to hear you have come to the end of your BC treatment 🙂 and I hope you continue to get well 🙂

Jo xx

[mizzy]

Hi, just wondering if any of you Ladies ( or Gents ) have heard of a link between Breast Cancer patients having a higher risk of having a Malignant Melanoma and vice versa. I was dx August 2007 Grade 3 Stage 2 Her2 IDC 7/21 node had 3/Fec 3/Tax 18 Herceptin and 25 Rads i was discharged in April this year (YIPEE!!). I went to docs in July after reading an article in the Daily Mail ( i know if it is in the Daily Mail it must be true LOL ) about checking your moles and what signs to look for. My doc refered me to a Dermatologist who removed the mole within the week he said it looked suspicious, then got the results it was indeed a Melanoma but it was caught at an early stage 1A and now waiting to go in for another WLE for extra margins. Doc said there's 95% chance of it never coming back so thats good news. Ive been googling (as you do) and came across this Breast/Melanoma link ( from America ) and i will be asking about it on my next visit. I knew nothing about skin cancer and although i have a lot of moles i never really gave them a second thought. So i thought i would come on here and spread the word so to speak to "Check Your Moles" and if in doubt get it checked out. Mizzy xx