Brother Diagnosed Today

Yes, I would absolutely get with a melanoma specialist sooner rather than later. Since you are in Texas I can’t recommend MD Anderson highly enough. My melanoma started on my scalp as well and they (MD Anderson -Dr. Ross and Dr. Amaria) were amazing in treating it and me! Many people here will tell you that you are in better hands with a melanoma specialist than a general oncologist and MD Anderson is one of the major league centers of melanoma treatment in terms of specialists, access to treatments, and even clinical trials if needed. I hope this helps, your brother is fortunate to have an advocate like you. I waited far too long to see my dermatologist but once they diagnosed me they also recommended a local oncologist, I’m glad I went to MD Anderson instead. Warrior On!

Tex

I live in Texas and also work in Michigan so last year actually had an apartment in Ann Arbor and house here. I’m so sorry that you have had to join us on the board on behalf of your brother, but (kind of unfortunately) we have a big Texas contingency on our board that are willing to help in any way.

I would definitely ask for a copy of the biopsy report. I would start by asking about the biopsy and what information is on there. this is the first information you get that tells you some things about the melanoma like how deep it is, etc. That will tell you what you are dealing with originally and then next steps are usually the Wide Local Excision (surgery) and depending on the depth, etc, and usually a SNLB (sentinel lymph node biopsy) will occur at the time of the excision. They will remove the lymph nodes after they inject a tracer to show where the drainage goes to. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/sentinel-node-biopsy/about/pac-20385264 This will give you even more information about whether there was any spread to the lymph nodes right near the melanoma. These are the first steps your brother will go through. Once you have this information, you’ll be able to ask about the treatment options based on what this initial information tells you.

You want to make sure that your brother gets his surgery done by a oncology surgeon (not general) or even better, one that specializes in melanoma, like here at MD Anderson. That is where my husband had his surgery and he is seen by Dr. Amaria, like TexMelanomaex . https://www.mdanderson.org/research/departments-labs-institutes/departments-divisions/surgical-oncology/faculty-staff.html

First, try to get the information about the biopsy. It should be a file or document that has all the characteristics of the melanoma. Then if you are comfortable, you can share some of that information on this board and people can give you information about the possible treatment options and what the current thinking is about how to treat the melanoma.

I would definitely recommend MD Anderson since you are in driving distance. My husband’s surgeon was Dr. Janice Cormier, couldn’t recommend her higher! She is great and really teamed up with Dr. Amaria after the surgery. My husband had a large (22mm deep) melanoma, so the WLE and SLNB were crucial.

If you need to meet up with people here in Houston, we are always available both our home and just to meet people that went through this. The med center can be a lot to navigate but would gladly help in any way. My brother was a veteran, he passed away two years ago (not from Melanoma or any cancer, but went through a lot with the VA Hospital. he would want us to help other veterans). Veterans are pretty darn stoic sometimes, I understand your wanting to advocate for him. My husband didn’t ask one single question, I had to be the one to advocate for him. It can be tough being the person without melanoma but wanting to help. Please ask any questions here on this board, we will support you. I’m glad your brother signed a release so they can share all the information with you, good for him!

Hugs,
Jackie