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need help

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  • Post
    • September 3, 2018 at 5:18 pm
    caman
    Participant

    Now im totally lost and I think my melanoma specialist is lieing to me for some reason.  My shave biospy indicated a 3.8 breslow thickness.  My WLE pathology diagnosis indicated a residual melanoma with a breslow depth of 2.4.  My doctor, melonoma specialistt,  tells me the WLE 2.4mm is the one he is going by not the original shaved biopsy.  From what im reading that is wrong and the 3.8mm is the true depth.  Whats going on?..Thank you if you can help, any info would be appreciated

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  • Replies
      • September 3, 2018 at 6:00 pm
      Julie in SoCal
      Participant

      Hi Anon,

      I can't speak to your docs intentions, but I know that there is no difference in treatment between a  depth of 2.4mm or 3.8mm.  Both call for the same treatment, so it really doesn't matter.

      Sorry you're going through this! 

      Shalom,

      Julie

        • September 3, 2018 at 7:42 pm
        caman
        Participant

        Thank you , does residual melanoma mean re occurrence ?

        • September 3, 2018 at 8:10 pm
        Julie in SoCal
        Participant

        Hi caman,

        Residual melanoma in a path report does not mean recurrence it just means the margins are not clear and will need to be reexcised.

        Julie

        • September 3, 2018 at 8:30 pm
        caman
        Participant

        Thank you. I had a shaved biopsy (3.8) in which the margins where not clear.  I followed that with a WLE with diagnosis of residual melanoma (2.4mm)  The whole piece (2cm) was removed with clear margins.  Is that what you mean?..

        • September 4, 2018 at 2:00 pm
        aldrichdesigner
        Participant
        “Clear margins” – that’s what you want to hear. Next they should be testing what is called the “sentinel node” (spelling?) And finding out where it is. To do that they will need to inject a dye at the site of the primary and it will light up the veins all the way to the lymph node. Then they can take that lymph node and find out if the cancer managed to spread. They will take out the lymph node and test it for melanoma. If positive, you will need to have the rest of them removed from that region. Don’t worry you have plenty more.
        • September 4, 2018 at 2:32 pm
        caman
        Participant

        THank you!!…I already tried the sentinel nobe biopsy and didn't work for me.  The dye didnt travel, it just sat there. As of right now i just dont know if it did spread to the nobes.  My melanoma specialists has me scheduled for scans for every 3 months.  My next scan is october, my first set of scans were negative.  My primary was removed in June.  Not knowing is diffucult, but there isnt much I can do.

        • September 4, 2018 at 3:26 pm
        bjeans
        Participant

        Yes – though more recently the rest of the lymph nodes are not necessarily removed if the sentinel lymph node (or nodes if more than one) are positive. 

        I’m bad at dates, but it may have been June/July 2017 that began a switch away from the earlier recommendation of a complete dissection (removal) of lymph nodes, even if the sentinel lymph node showed melanoma cells. This was following a study/ies. 

        • September 6, 2018 at 1:51 am
        bjeans
        Participant

        Just happened to see on Celeste’s blog, a newer study re SLNB without doing a CLND, with links to the other studies. My husband’s melanoma treatment center stopped doing them in July 2017. 

      • September 5, 2018 at 5:48 pm
      MelanomaMike
      Participant
      Like Alderichdesigner said, now that you have your WLE and such out the way they will (or should be) preforming the sentinel Lymphnode biopsy to make sure it hasnt spread, the “dye” (lymphatic Mapping) was no joke for me! anyways, it burned like HELL FIRE when they injected i think 4 different syringes of it into my primary tumor area (above left knee) to map the pathway up to my groin are where the nodes reside…hopefully your NED!
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