Metastatic Malignant Melanoma Satge 3B

Not so fast, Lee.  There are many of us on the board who are Stage 3 or 4 who have been around for a long time.  There are lots of new treatments and advances out there.  I had an LND 6 years ago after melanoma was discovered in a lymph node in my neck. No primary so it is hard to stage, but at least Stage 3.   So far, so good.  I am sure others will respond with encouraging stories.

You are in a tough stage of the process, though.  Early in the diagnosis it seems so scary – every twinge or gas pain is another met.  Over time you develop a treatment plan and learn that many, many people have survived. You get more comfortable dealing with mel.

I hope this helps.  Please keep posting on your progress.

Fen

Not so fast, Lee.  There are many of us on the board who are Stage 3 or 4 who have been around for a long time.  There are lots of new treatments and advances out there.  I had an LND 6 years ago after melanoma was discovered in a lymph node in my neck. No primary so it is hard to stage, but at least Stage 3.   So far, so good.  I am sure others will respond with encouraging stories.

You are in a tough stage of the process, though.  Early in the diagnosis it seems so scary – every twinge or gas pain is another met.  Over time you develop a treatment plan and learn that many, many people have survived. You get more comfortable dealing with mel.

I hope this helps.  Please keep posting on your progress.

Fen

Not so fast, Lee.  There are many of us on the board who are Stage 3 or 4 who have been around for a long time.  There are lots of new treatments and advances out there.  I had an LND 6 years ago after melanoma was discovered in a lymph node in my neck. No primary so it is hard to stage, but at least Stage 3.   So far, so good.  I am sure others will respond with encouraging stories.

You are in a tough stage of the process, though.  Early in the diagnosis it seems so scary – every twinge or gas pain is another met.  Over time you develop a treatment plan and learn that many, many people have survived. You get more comfortable dealing with mel.

I hope this helps.  Please keep posting on your progress.

Fen

Lee, sorry you're having to deal with melanoma, it's such an evil monster.  I just wanted to share my story with you quickly. I've been diagnosed with 3 separate primaries – first was in 2003, I was 21 years old, it was on my back, stage 1. The second was on my left arm, thin melanoma, stage 0, that was in 2005. Then in 2006, when I was 25, I was diagnosed with stage 3a melanoma, mole on the back of my leg, micromets in sentinel node in my right groin.  After the final diagnosis, I was pretty devastated, three melanomas in 3 years was too much. I felt pretty hopeless, thought I'd never go more than a few years without another primary or a recurrence. BUT I fought on, I had a complete lymph node dissection at the end of 2006, then I completed 9 months of interferon in 2007.  And today I'm 4 1/2 years NED, soon to be 5 years in March – sometimes I can't believe it! It's been a long road, not a day goes by that I don't think about melanoma, but I've found as time goes on, I'm less worried and scared, and I just try to live life.

I know it's tough right now to imagine the years ahead, years of NED, but it is possible.  There are many people out there with positive stories, and hopefully they'll share them with you here.  Hang in there! This is a good forum for questions, info and support, so you're in the right place.

Sending positive thoughts your way!

~SarahS 

Lee, sorry you're having to deal with melanoma, it's such an evil monster.  I just wanted to share my story with you quickly. I've been diagnosed with 3 separate primaries – first was in 2003, I was 21 years old, it was on my back, stage 1. The second was on my left arm, thin melanoma, stage 0, that was in 2005. Then in 2006, when I was 25, I was diagnosed with stage 3a melanoma, mole on the back of my leg, micromets in sentinel node in my right groin.  After the final diagnosis, I was pretty devastated, three melanomas in 3 years was too much. I felt pretty hopeless, thought I'd never go more than a few years without another primary or a recurrence. BUT I fought on, I had a complete lymph node dissection at the end of 2006, then I completed 9 months of interferon in 2007.  And today I'm 4 1/2 years NED, soon to be 5 years in March – sometimes I can't believe it! It's been a long road, not a day goes by that I don't think about melanoma, but I've found as time goes on, I'm less worried and scared, and I just try to live life.

I know it's tough right now to imagine the years ahead, years of NED, but it is possible.  There are many people out there with positive stories, and hopefully they'll share them with you here.  Hang in there! This is a good forum for questions, info and support, so you're in the right place.

Sending positive thoughts your way!

~SarahS 

Lee, sorry you're having to deal with melanoma, it's such an evil monster.  I just wanted to share my story with you quickly. I've been diagnosed with 3 separate primaries – first was in 2003, I was 21 years old, it was on my back, stage 1. The second was on my left arm, thin melanoma, stage 0, that was in 2005. Then in 2006, when I was 25, I was diagnosed with stage 3a melanoma, mole on the back of my leg, micromets in sentinel node in my right groin.  After the final diagnosis, I was pretty devastated, three melanomas in 3 years was too much. I felt pretty hopeless, thought I'd never go more than a few years without another primary or a recurrence. BUT I fought on, I had a complete lymph node dissection at the end of 2006, then I completed 9 months of interferon in 2007.  And today I'm 4 1/2 years NED, soon to be 5 years in March – sometimes I can't believe it! It's been a long road, not a day goes by that I don't think about melanoma, but I've found as time goes on, I'm less worried and scared, and I just try to live life.

I know it's tough right now to imagine the years ahead, years of NED, but it is possible.  There are many people out there with positive stories, and hopefully they'll share them with you here.  Hang in there! This is a good forum for questions, info and support, so you're in the right place.

Sending positive thoughts your way!

~SarahS 

Hi Lee;

Like other respondents I was diagnosed as malignant melanoma stage 3b with another condition brought on by the melanoma called paraneoplastic retroperitoneal fibrosis (aurto-immune disease) two years ago this month.Surgery removed a growth 75 by 65 mm and I never noticed ith there as well as 16 other lymph nodes.I had no primary and am on a watch and wait program.The good news is I am active healthy and on a vegan diet which has given me more energy (59 years old) and I mountain bike and exercise on a regular basis.We can change our prognosis by are mind, diet,exercise and I believe supplementation and of course eductaion which this forum is good at.Two years in my auto-immune disease is on hold and no re-occurrence to date and I am trusting this will continue.It is difficult as we all suffer from scan anxiety and think about it but we can affect our outcome. I am based in the UK happy to talk if you want to know what I do.

best regards Ian

Hi Lee;

Like other respondents I was diagnosed as malignant melanoma stage 3b with another condition brought on by the melanoma called paraneoplastic retroperitoneal fibrosis (aurto-immune disease) two years ago this month.Surgery removed a growth 75 by 65 mm and I never noticed ith there as well as 16 other lymph nodes.I had no primary and am on a watch and wait program.The good news is I am active healthy and on a vegan diet which has given me more energy (59 years old) and I mountain bike and exercise on a regular basis.We can change our prognosis by are mind, diet,exercise and I believe supplementation and of course eductaion which this forum is good at.Two years in my auto-immune disease is on hold and no re-occurrence to date and I am trusting this will continue.It is difficult as we all suffer from scan anxiety and think about it but we can affect our outcome. I am based in the UK happy to talk if you want to know what I do.

best regards Ian

Hi Lee;

Like other respondents I was diagnosed as malignant melanoma stage 3b with another condition brought on by the melanoma called paraneoplastic retroperitoneal fibrosis (aurto-immune disease) two years ago this month.Surgery removed a growth 75 by 65 mm and I never noticed ith there as well as 16 other lymph nodes.I had no primary and am on a watch and wait program.The good news is I am active healthy and on a vegan diet which has given me more energy (59 years old) and I mountain bike and exercise on a regular basis.We can change our prognosis by are mind, diet,exercise and I believe supplementation and of course eductaion which this forum is good at.Two years in my auto-immune disease is on hold and no re-occurrence to date and I am trusting this will continue.It is difficult as we all suffer from scan anxiety and think about it but we can affect our outcome. I am based in the UK happy to talk if you want to know what I do.

best regards Ian