I’ve had unexpected BRCA drama in the past few years. A lot of issues are because of my melanoma risk related to being BRCA2+.  Even though my mom is BRCA2+ and had malignant melanoma in 2008, I didn’t think the melanoma risk associated with being BRCA+ would impact me so much. Maybe it’s because BRCA is known as the “breast and ovarian cancer gene.” Maybe since mastectomies and oophorectomies seem like such radical prophylactic surgeries, other BRCA associated cancers are swept under the rug, especially with media coverage. Angelina Jolie having an atypical mole definitely isn’t as headline grabbing as Angelina Jolie prophylactically removing her reproductive organs and breasts. I’d definitely rethink my guilty pleasure subscription to US Magazine if the cover story was about weird looking moles.

So, I went to the dermatologist for my annual skin checks, wore sunscreen – and thought
that would be the extent of it. Actually, that was the extent of it, until Nov. 2015, when I had moles biopsied that turned out to be pre-melanoma. I ended up having both moles removed through a process called a skin excision. Since 2015, I’ve had 6 biopsies and 5 of them turned out to be pre-melanoma, requiring excisions. The excision is required because of my BRCA mutation and making sure they get all of the borders. The good news is – being proactive and knowing I’m at high risk has led to me discovering all of these when they were pre-melanoma and not melanoma. The bad news is – the procedures and recovery are not very fun, and I’m collecting a cool Frankestein-ish collection of scars.

Of all the excisions, the scariest was the most recent, because I’m pregnant. Even though mole changes are common during pregnancy,  I’m super lucky to have an amazing OB who noticed the atypical mole during my first exam with her. She urged me to keep an eye on it because of my BRCA mutation, so I followed up with my dermatologist and she agreed that it was suspicious looking, and biopsied it. It turned out to be pre-melanoma and I had to have a pretty gnarly excision because of the weird location of the mole (inner thigh/butt are), and only wanting to take tylenol because of the pregnancy. Also, having an excision that is a literal pain in the a$$ isn’t helped when you have to get up and pee every hour because you’re pregnant. It was also the scariest time waiting for results because I was completely freaked about what would happen if it was melanoma and the risk of it spreading to the fetus. Thankfully, they caught everything in time. I also was referred to a specialist who I’m seeing more frequently throughout pregnancy to take pictures and measurements of all my moles, to make sure any changes are just pregnancy related, and nothing suspicious. I just had my last prenatal mole check with that specialist and everything looked a-ok!

So, make sure to get your moles checked out! Know your ABCDE‘s, see a dermatologist, and wear sunscreen. Here’s a helpful video about self skin checks.