› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Bump on the neck
- This topic has 16 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 6 months ago by
bblapril.
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- September 22, 2011 at 9:13 pm
My husband was diagnosed with Melanoma in May. He had a swollen gland that the Doctors thought was an infection and after testing it was confirmed that it was cancer. He had a radical neck dissection in June and the tumor was removed and he is now in Stage 3c and underdoing Interferon treatments. So far everything has been going pretty good until two days ago when he noticed a bump on his neck near the surgery site. He is going to see the oncologist tomorrow to have it checked out but I was wondering if anyone has experienced this? I'm wondering i
My husband was diagnosed with Melanoma in May. He had a swollen gland that the Doctors thought was an infection and after testing it was confirmed that it was cancer. He had a radical neck dissection in June and the tumor was removed and he is now in Stage 3c and underdoing Interferon treatments. So far everything has been going pretty good until two days ago when he noticed a bump on his neck near the surgery site. He is going to see the oncologist tomorrow to have it checked out but I was wondering if anyone has experienced this? I'm wondering if it could be an infection or if it is another tumor.
As many of you can relate, our life has been turned upside down. He is 42, we've been married for 19 years and have two teenagers. He is the love of my life and I worry about him so much.
Thank you
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- September 23, 2011 at 3:37 am
Welcome to our forum. Sorry to read that your husband was diagnosed in May. I encourage you to create a profile for him, as this will help us to help you better.
A bump on the neck can be due to a number of causes such as an infection. However, it is good that he is seeing the oncologist about it tomorrow. A biopsy is the best way to determine if the bump is anything to be concerned about.
Hope this helps.
Frank from Australia
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- September 23, 2011 at 5:32 pm
Thank you Frank for your reply. It's nice to not feel alone in this mess! I will work on creating a profile for him.
He met with his oncologist this morning and the Doctor feels that it is just an infection….whew! He will start antibiotics today. He does have a routine follow up with his surgeon on Tuesday so he can discuss it with him as well.
April
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- September 23, 2011 at 5:32 pm
Thank you Frank for your reply. It's nice to not feel alone in this mess! I will work on creating a profile for him.
He met with his oncologist this morning and the Doctor feels that it is just an infection….whew! He will start antibiotics today. He does have a routine follow up with his surgeon on Tuesday so he can discuss it with him as well.
April
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- September 23, 2011 at 3:37 am
Welcome to our forum. Sorry to read that your husband was diagnosed in May. I encourage you to create a profile for him, as this will help us to help you better.
A bump on the neck can be due to a number of causes such as an infection. However, it is good that he is seeing the oncologist about it tomorrow. A biopsy is the best way to determine if the bump is anything to be concerned about.
Hope this helps.
Frank from Australia
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- September 23, 2011 at 7:27 am
Glad it's being checked immediately. Of course it could be other things, but if it is fairly fast growing I would want a biopsy SOON to know for sure. If it's not melanoma, then you have not wasted time worrying for nothing, If it is, then you have taken care of it quickly. If the gland in the neck is the first tumor found (IE he had a unknown primary) then I would certainly also want a C-kit oncoprotein stain test done. It this test is negative then I would also want a BRAF test performed. This will provide information as to possible future treatments if the melanoma spreads further. A new tumor near the surgery site does not necessarily change the staging, it may well just be where a few cells were missed in the original surgery and now they need to be removed. Please let us know what the Onc finds out.
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- September 23, 2011 at 5:39 pm
Thank you Jerry for your reply, I appreciate it and the info.
He met with the Oncologist this morning and he feels it is an infection as his throat was red and irritated as well. He did prescribe antibiotics and he will start to take those today. He does have a scheduled appointment with his surgeon on Tuesday so he will be in the right place if it doesn't get better over the weekend. The Oncologist did say that due to his extensive surgery he had it would be a long time before anything developed in that area.
I really do appreciate the feedback…thank you! It helps to know that we are not alone in this!
April
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- September 27, 2011 at 5:31 pm
9/27/11 – Here is an update: My husband met with his surgeon this morning and he is very concerned with this new bump. He did a needle biopsy and is ordering a ct scan. We will go back next Tuesday for results…it's going to be another long week!
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- September 27, 2011 at 5:31 pm
9/27/11 – Here is an update: My husband met with his surgeon this morning and he is very concerned with this new bump. He did a needle biopsy and is ordering a ct scan. We will go back next Tuesday for results…it's going to be another long week!
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- September 27, 2011 at 5:31 pm
9/27/11 – Here is an update: My husband met with his surgeon this morning and he is very concerned with this new bump. He did a needle biopsy and is ordering a ct scan. We will go back next Tuesday for results…it's going to be another long week!
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- September 27, 2011 at 8:54 pm
I love the fact that I get a CT and then about two hours later I get the report from the Oncologist at my appointment with him. Prefer to not wait too long! (I also walk out of the Scan with a copy of the scan on disc. I can even check it before I see the Oncologist, but usually wait the hour or two for him to review it before I look. (My wife likes to get a bite to eat in between!)
Waiting with you to hear those results.
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- September 30, 2011 at 10:58 pm
Here is another update….
Since we are heading into the weekend and my husband didn't want to keep guessing all weekend he called his surgeon to see if the results were in from the needle biopsy. The surgeon it is inflammatory but there were atypical cells. The lab needs to run more test over the weekend and hopefully have a better answer on Tuesday. CT scan Monday, see the surgeon on Tuesday, treatment later in the day. The surgeon is preliminary thinking that he needs to get the nodes out, treatment needs to continue and discuss radiation. We can breathe a little easier over the weekend now. Thanks for reading!
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- September 30, 2011 at 10:58 pm
Here is another update….
Since we are heading into the weekend and my husband didn't want to keep guessing all weekend he called his surgeon to see if the results were in from the needle biopsy. The surgeon it is inflammatory but there were atypical cells. The lab needs to run more test over the weekend and hopefully have a better answer on Tuesday. CT scan Monday, see the surgeon on Tuesday, treatment later in the day. The surgeon is preliminary thinking that he needs to get the nodes out, treatment needs to continue and discuss radiation. We can breathe a little easier over the weekend now. Thanks for reading!
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- September 27, 2011 at 8:54 pm
I love the fact that I get a CT and then about two hours later I get the report from the Oncologist at my appointment with him. Prefer to not wait too long! (I also walk out of the Scan with a copy of the scan on disc. I can even check it before I see the Oncologist, but usually wait the hour or two for him to review it before I look. (My wife likes to get a bite to eat in between!)
Waiting with you to hear those results.
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- September 27, 2011 at 5:31 pm
9/27/11 – Here is an update: My husband met with his surgeon this morning and he is very concerned with this new bump. He did a needle biopsy and is ordering a ct scan. We will go back next Tuesday for results…it's going to be another long week!
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- September 23, 2011 at 5:39 pm
Thank you Jerry for your reply, I appreciate it and the info.
He met with the Oncologist this morning and he feels it is an infection as his throat was red and irritated as well. He did prescribe antibiotics and he will start to take those today. He does have a scheduled appointment with his surgeon on Tuesday so he will be in the right place if it doesn't get better over the weekend. The Oncologist did say that due to his extensive surgery he had it would be a long time before anything developed in that area.
I really do appreciate the feedback…thank you! It helps to know that we are not alone in this!
April
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- September 23, 2011 at 7:27 am
Glad it's being checked immediately. Of course it could be other things, but if it is fairly fast growing I would want a biopsy SOON to know for sure. If it's not melanoma, then you have not wasted time worrying for nothing, If it is, then you have taken care of it quickly. If the gland in the neck is the first tumor found (IE he had a unknown primary) then I would certainly also want a C-kit oncoprotein stain test done. It this test is negative then I would also want a BRAF test performed. This will provide information as to possible future treatments if the melanoma spreads further. A new tumor near the surgery site does not necessarily change the staging, it may well just be where a few cells were missed in the original surgery and now they need to be removed. Please let us know what the Onc finds out.
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