Acral lentiginous melanoma just diagnosed also have breast cancer 39 years old so lost

You have certainly had a hard time. Even having finished the chemotherapy, you must be adapting to the long-term therapy. Fingers crossed that the lymph nodes are clear of melanoma cells. Then you can forget it, because it has not spread.

Melanoma and breast cancer are very different cancers and the treatment for the two are different. I very much doubt the two are related. You are probably just really unlucky.

Was it a PET scan? They can be difficult to interpret because any area with lots of cellular activity lights up. Your melanoma specialist will put the pathology results and all the scan results together and use them to work out what is happening.

I recommend that you concentrate on getting as heathy as possible . We know that a healthy immune system attacks melanoma cells. I know it sounds crazy, but being stressed will not help. Worrying can only do you harm, it cannot do you any good. Try to relax and spoil yourself.

If you need further treatment (and hopefully you won't) it is very unlikely to be chemotherapy. It may or may not include more surgery. The best treatment for melanoma that has spread is immunotherapy, which is much more unpredictable than chemotherapy for breast cancer but can be very effective. Also, some melanomas are BRAF positive and there is a targetted therapy for this type.

You have certainly had a hard time. Even having finished the chemotherapy, you must be adapting to the long-term therapy. Fingers crossed that the lymph nodes are clear of melanoma cells. Then you can forget it, because it has not spread.

Melanoma and breast cancer are very different cancers and the treatment for the two are different. I very much doubt the two are related. You are probably just really unlucky.

Was it a PET scan? They can be difficult to interpret because any area with lots of cellular activity lights up. Your melanoma specialist will put the pathology results and all the scan results together and use them to work out what is happening.

I recommend that you concentrate on getting as heathy as possible . We know that a healthy immune system attacks melanoma cells. I know it sounds crazy, but being stressed will not help. Worrying can only do you harm, it cannot do you any good. Try to relax and spoil yourself.

If you need further treatment (and hopefully you won't) it is very unlikely to be chemotherapy. It may or may not include more surgery. The best treatment for melanoma that has spread is immunotherapy, which is much more unpredictable than chemotherapy for breast cancer but can be very effective. Also, some melanomas are BRAF positive and there is a targetted therapy for this type.

You have certainly had a hard time. Even having finished the chemotherapy, you must be adapting to the long-term therapy. Fingers crossed that the lymph nodes are clear of melanoma cells. Then you can forget it, because it has not spread.

Melanoma and breast cancer are very different cancers and the treatment for the two are different. I very much doubt the two are related. You are probably just really unlucky.

Was it a PET scan? They can be difficult to interpret because any area with lots of cellular activity lights up. Your melanoma specialist will put the pathology results and all the scan results together and use them to work out what is happening.

I recommend that you concentrate on getting as heathy as possible . We know that a healthy immune system attacks melanoma cells. I know it sounds crazy, but being stressed will not help. Worrying can only do you harm, it cannot do you any good. Try to relax and spoil yourself.

If you need further treatment (and hopefully you won't) it is very unlikely to be chemotherapy. It may or may not include more surgery. The best treatment for melanoma that has spread is immunotherapy, which is much more unpredictable than chemotherapy for breast cancer but can be very effective. Also, some melanomas are BRAF positive and there is a targetted therapy for this type.

I have no words. Firstly, that you are again confronted with a cancer scare. That is so unfair. Secondly, that an oncologist saw a possible melanoma and said 'we'll worry about that later'. Knowning how aggressive and dangerous melanoma is, I just cannot let that kind of thing go. You really should write a letter to whoever is in charge of that practice, or more. The melanoma is as dangerous as the breast cancer, maybe more so. For the doctor to ignore it seems really incompetent.

I can't really provide any solace for the situation you find yourself in, but here is some more information on your specific type of melanoma, which is reasonably rare (1-3% of melanoma cases in fair skinned people, in New Zealand at least):

http://www.dermnetnz.org/lesions/alm.html

The most important part of your pathology is the Breslow depth, and whether it is a true measure or whether it's been dissected (in which case the true depth is hard to guage). You say margins weren't clear, but was that side margins or lower margin?

I truly hope that your WLE (wide excision) and SLNB (lymph node biopsy) are both clear. You have had enough stress and worry! However, if they are not, I guess you need to take things one step at a time, just as you did with breast cancer. The good news, if there is any, is that there are more and more drugs available for melanoma – it's one of the first types of cancer that responds well to immunotherapies. Hopefully, that is not going to be something you need to worry about, but rest assured that even if you do get bad news on your WLE/SLNB, there is alot of hope.

I have no words. Firstly, that you are again confronted with a cancer scare. That is so unfair. Secondly, that an oncologist saw a possible melanoma and said 'we'll worry about that later'. Knowning how aggressive and dangerous melanoma is, I just cannot let that kind of thing go. You really should write a letter to whoever is in charge of that practice, or more. The melanoma is as dangerous as the breast cancer, maybe more so. For the doctor to ignore it seems really incompetent.

I can't really provide any solace for the situation you find yourself in, but here is some more information on your specific type of melanoma, which is reasonably rare (1-3% of melanoma cases in fair skinned people, in New Zealand at least):

http://www.dermnetnz.org/lesions/alm.html

The most important part of your pathology is the Breslow depth, and whether it is a true measure or whether it's been dissected (in which case the true depth is hard to guage). You say margins weren't clear, but was that side margins or lower margin?

I truly hope that your WLE (wide excision) and SLNB (lymph node biopsy) are both clear. You have had enough stress and worry! However, if they are not, I guess you need to take things one step at a time, just as you did with breast cancer. The good news, if there is any, is that there are more and more drugs available for melanoma – it's one of the first types of cancer that responds well to immunotherapies. Hopefully, that is not going to be something you need to worry about, but rest assured that even if you do get bad news on your WLE/SLNB, there is alot of hope.

I have no words. Firstly, that you are again confronted with a cancer scare. That is so unfair. Secondly, that an oncologist saw a possible melanoma and said 'we'll worry about that later'. Knowning how aggressive and dangerous melanoma is, I just cannot let that kind of thing go. You really should write a letter to whoever is in charge of that practice, or more. The melanoma is as dangerous as the breast cancer, maybe more so. For the doctor to ignore it seems really incompetent.

I can't really provide any solace for the situation you find yourself in, but here is some more information on your specific type of melanoma, which is reasonably rare (1-3% of melanoma cases in fair skinned people, in New Zealand at least):

http://www.dermnetnz.org/lesions/alm.html

The most important part of your pathology is the Breslow depth, and whether it is a true measure or whether it's been dissected (in which case the true depth is hard to guage). You say margins weren't clear, but was that side margins or lower margin?

I truly hope that your WLE (wide excision) and SLNB (lymph node biopsy) are both clear. You have had enough stress and worry! However, if they are not, I guess you need to take things one step at a time, just as you did with breast cancer. The good news, if there is any, is that there are more and more drugs available for melanoma – it's one of the first types of cancer that responds well to immunotherapies. Hopefully, that is not going to be something you need to worry about, but rest assured that even if you do get bad news on your WLE/SLNB, there is alot of hope.

1B and clear SLNB is great news. It must have been quite thin, and thankfully has not spread tot hose nodes. Thanks for the update and take care!

1B and clear SLNB is great news. It must have been quite thin, and thankfully has not spread tot hose nodes. Thanks for the update and take care!

1B and clear SLNB is great news. It must have been quite thin, and thankfully has not spread tot hose nodes. Thanks for the update and take care!