First of all, whomever the doc is that got you on a routine annual chest x-ray should be given a huge pat on the back. Whether or not it is melanoma metastasis, that’s a good follow up protocol! IF this is indeed melanoma, that’s a nice early catch (yes, even at stage IV, an early catch is better than a late one!). It could be a benign nodule. It is possible. I had a nurse friend who thought for certain that she was facing metastatic breast cancer, until her biopsy showed it was a fungus in her lungs. Weird things happen. That said, it could very well be a return of the melanoma. Mine was 1a when removed from my shoulder in July 2007. Five years and 9 months later, it was stage IV. Three lesions in my lungs… 5 cm, 2 cm, and 1.2 cm. Five lesions in my brain… largest at 1.4 cm caused a seizure, leading to the discovery of stage IV. Apparently my primary care doc doing skin checks every 6 months did nothing to stop or sufficiently monitor the spread. Go figure. Had I been getting annual chest x-rays… we may have found things a lot sooner.
You’re now in the unenviable position of “biopsy then wait for results”. It’s probably going to be the longest stretch of 7-14 days you’ve encountered in quite some time. Fingers crossed that it’s something less ominous than melanoma, and you can be back on track with annual check ups! However… IF… IF IF it is melanoma… ask about possible BRAF testing status, and perhaps a brain MRI and full body PET/CT are in order as well. If the biopsy comes back as melanoma, AND its a single lesion with the rest of you coming back clear on scans, you’ll have a few options……. but putting the cart too far in front of the horse is only going to have you more on edge and stressed while awaiting test results. For now, try your best to distract with “regular life” stuff.
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