Further investigation~
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Further investigation~

› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Further investigation~

  • Post
    • June 4, 2019 at 3:05 am
    robokd
    Participant
    Hey all, i’m new here.

    I found out I had melanoma about 3 weeks ago, I have started going through the motions, so I have been doing a bit of research to get an idea of what lies ahead. I’m currently waiting for a call from the melanoma clinic in the city, and am hoping that someone here may be able to provide some clarity on a couple things.

    Quick backstory;
    Biopsy confirmed melanoma, had about 2cm wide (the biggest he said he was able to do) cut out on same day as result. Results from that came back, and to set the scene I was the last appointment of the day, and the doc had a long and heated argument with the person before me. He seemed a little distracted (not complaining, I understand), told me it was stage 3, then corrected himself to 2, and said he was going to refer me to to the melanoma clinic at the hospital in the city for further investigation. I missed a lot of the specifics from the path report, but I do know the margins were not clear and the breslow depth was 3.5mm.

    I suppose where the confusion comes in is where I’m actually at. Given that he said it’s stage 2, is it likely to remain that way following the next visit, or am I still in the process of discovering the ‘extent’ of it? (I probably should have asked my doctor!)

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  • Replies
      • June 4, 2019 at 7:08 pm
      KAP715
      Participant
      If the margins aren’t clear you will most likely be scheduled for a wide excision and a sentinel lymph node biopsy at your next appointment. You will most likely remain at stage 2 unless the SLNB comes back positive for melanoma at which point you’d be considered stage 3.
      • June 4, 2019 at 7:58 pm
      Bubbles
      Participant
      Kap has summed it up well. If you go to this link: https://melanoma.org/patients-caregivers/newly-diagnosed/ And then click on the “book”, you will find a lot of good information. Celeste
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