Newbie > SLNB + wide-excision

Very similar to you.  Started out 3mm T3a no ulceration.  Location on Waist, new mole.  Only reason I had it removed is because it itched. The mole did not look at all odd.  SLNB was an easy operation for me.  Doc took out 4 nodes.  2 node were positive but only had microscopic amounts of cancer.  Doc wasn't worried.  He offered a trial to watch (via ultra sound) the remaining nodes or removal of all the remaining nodes.  I chose to take out all the nodes. After that operation next decision is usually interferon or "wait and watch".  I chose wait and watch – scans every 3 months.    Fast forward to today, I will be NED (no evidence of disease) for 2 years this coming March. 

Another strange similarity is I also choose not to tell anyone but immediate family and one friend who had breast cancer.  I not sure why, except I wanted to know what I was dealing with first.  I am very open about it now.  Anyway, I think we all find folks reactions to Melanoma can be odd at times.  Many times it's due to lack of knowledge.  They tend to think of it in the same category as BC.  I remember reading on this board one person posting  who had an unknown primary and was diagnosed with Mel in the Lung that her Onc had said she would only wish she had Lung Cancer.  That brought home how serious this disease is and how misunderstood it is. 

But back to our situation.  Your next operation should be fairly easy for you I hope.  At this point you and I are extremely curable.  Our best defense is keeping healthy immune systems and good attitudes.  Yesterday I just had two more moles removed.  Probably didn't need to but ..one was itching me and darn if I could figure out which one it was when I got to the derm so I said take them both …I look like connect the dots already!  Since the likihood of a second primary is very small I am not particularly worried but this is all part of the routine.

Good Luck and Keep in Touch.

Mary

Stage 3

Very similar to you.  Started out 3mm T3a no ulceration.  Location on Waist, new mole.  Only reason I had it removed is because it itched. The mole did not look at all odd.  SLNB was an easy operation for me.  Doc took out 4 nodes.  2 node were positive but only had microscopic amounts of cancer.  Doc wasn't worried.  He offered a trial to watch (via ultra sound) the remaining nodes or removal of all the remaining nodes.  I chose to take out all the nodes. After that operation next decision is usually interferon or "wait and watch".  I chose wait and watch – scans every 3 months.    Fast forward to today, I will be NED (no evidence of disease) for 2 years this coming March. 

Another strange similarity is I also choose not to tell anyone but immediate family and one friend who had breast cancer.  I not sure why, except I wanted to know what I was dealing with first.  I am very open about it now.  Anyway, I think we all find folks reactions to Melanoma can be odd at times.  Many times it's due to lack of knowledge.  They tend to think of it in the same category as BC.  I remember reading on this board one person posting  who had an unknown primary and was diagnosed with Mel in the Lung that her Onc had said she would only wish she had Lung Cancer.  That brought home how serious this disease is and how misunderstood it is. 

But back to our situation.  Your next operation should be fairly easy for you I hope.  At this point you and I are extremely curable.  Our best defense is keeping healthy immune systems and good attitudes.  Yesterday I just had two more moles removed.  Probably didn't need to but ..one was itching me and darn if I could figure out which one it was when I got to the derm so I said take them both …I look like connect the dots already!  Since the likihood of a second primary is very small I am not particularly worried but this is all part of the routine.

Good Luck and Keep in Touch.

Mary

Stage 3

Very similar to you.  Started out 3mm T3a no ulceration.  Location on Waist, new mole.  Only reason I had it removed is because it itched. The mole did not look at all odd.  SLNB was an easy operation for me.  Doc took out 4 nodes.  2 node were positive but only had microscopic amounts of cancer.  Doc wasn't worried.  He offered a trial to watch (via ultra sound) the remaining nodes or removal of all the remaining nodes.  I chose to take out all the nodes. After that operation next decision is usually interferon or "wait and watch".  I chose wait and watch – scans every 3 months.    Fast forward to today, I will be NED (no evidence of disease) for 2 years this coming March. 

Another strange similarity is I also choose not to tell anyone but immediate family and one friend who had breast cancer.  I not sure why, except I wanted to know what I was dealing with first.  I am very open about it now.  Anyway, I think we all find folks reactions to Melanoma can be odd at times.  Many times it's due to lack of knowledge.  They tend to think of it in the same category as BC.  I remember reading on this board one person posting  who had an unknown primary and was diagnosed with Mel in the Lung that her Onc had said she would only wish she had Lung Cancer.  That brought home how serious this disease is and how misunderstood it is. 

But back to our situation.  Your next operation should be fairly easy for you I hope.  At this point you and I are extremely curable.  Our best defense is keeping healthy immune systems and good attitudes.  Yesterday I just had two more moles removed.  Probably didn't need to but ..one was itching me and darn if I could figure out which one it was when I got to the derm so I said take them both …I look like connect the dots already!  Since the likihood of a second primary is very small I am not particularly worried but this is all part of the routine.

Good Luck and Keep in Touch.

Mary

Stage 3

Hi, I received my diagnosis in july 2011. Mine was on top of my foot, 1.57 breslow, no ulceration, but a high mitotic rate. My sentinel node came back positive for micromets, so I had 6 more nodes removed, all clear. i agree with Mary, the statistics are definitely on our side. I have done lots of reading about melanoma and it seems to me most people with early nodal involvement do not have recurrences. We are so fortunate that a lot more is known about melanoma now, and pathology has improved greatly over what it used to be. Alot of people I talk to know someone that had melanoma because i think it is more common than you think.  Hopefully, your SNB will be negative and that's all you will have to do. But stay on top of it anyway. Have an oncologist that you trust.

Hi, I received my diagnosis in july 2011. Mine was on top of my foot, 1.57 breslow, no ulceration, but a high mitotic rate. My sentinel node came back positive for micromets, so I had 6 more nodes removed, all clear. i agree with Mary, the statistics are definitely on our side. I have done lots of reading about melanoma and it seems to me most people with early nodal involvement do not have recurrences. We are so fortunate that a lot more is known about melanoma now, and pathology has improved greatly over what it used to be. Alot of people I talk to know someone that had melanoma because i think it is more common than you think.  Hopefully, your SNB will be negative and that's all you will have to do. But stay on top of it anyway. Have an oncologist that you trust.

Hi, I received my diagnosis in july 2011. Mine was on top of my foot, 1.57 breslow, no ulceration, but a high mitotic rate. My sentinel node came back positive for micromets, so I had 6 more nodes removed, all clear. i agree with Mary, the statistics are definitely on our side. I have done lots of reading about melanoma and it seems to me most people with early nodal involvement do not have recurrences. We are so fortunate that a lot more is known about melanoma now, and pathology has improved greatly over what it used to be. Alot of people I talk to know someone that had melanoma because i think it is more common than you think.  Hopefully, your SNB will be negative and that's all you will have to do. But stay on top of it anyway. Have an oncologist that you trust.

Hi – I had the WLE and SNLB done 1/24. The mole was on my right leg between the inner thigh and back of leg. I didn’t even bother me, was so small, but I had this voice telling me, just get it removed. Went to my primary who also said he wasn’t concerned, but did a punch biopsy. I forgot about it and 7 days later got the call that it was Malignant Melanoma. The only one that knew was my husband because I was out when the doctor called and he pressured the doctor in to telling him. I didn’t tell my parents (they are out of state) or anyone. I was scared, sick, upset etc. because of the unknown. I didn’t want to put the people I love through that and decided that until I knew what my next steps were going to be, I wasn’t going to say anything. I had a 1.2 Breslow, Clark IV and 1 mitotic rate, no ulceration. I immediately sought out a Mel specialist surgeon and now have quarterly follow ups with a dermatologist at Sloan Kettering. The surgery wasn’t bad for me. My surgeon removed 1 node that turned out to be negative. The recovery was a little more difficult. My doctor told me I could resume life as normal after the surgery. So, I stayed out of work the remainder of the week, still tended to my kids etc…and went back to the gym the following week. My leg continually swelled and I had this enormous egg under the groin incision, was limping, it was really painful. Long story short, had it drained, and given an antibiotic for the infection. So, I suppose my only advice would be to take it easy after the surgery. Give yourself time to heal. I am three weeks out and at about 85% back to normal. It IS a scary disease and should not be taken lightly. You will do fine and keep us posted.

Kelli

Hi – I had the WLE and SNLB done 1/24. The mole was on my right leg between the inner thigh and back of leg. I didn’t even bother me, was so small, but I had this voice telling me, just get it removed. Went to my primary who also said he wasn’t concerned, but did a punch biopsy. I forgot about it and 7 days later got the call that it was Malignant Melanoma. The only one that knew was my husband because I was out when the doctor called and he pressured the doctor in to telling him. I didn’t tell my parents (they are out of state) or anyone. I was scared, sick, upset etc. because of the unknown. I didn’t want to put the people I love through that and decided that until I knew what my next steps were going to be, I wasn’t going to say anything. I had a 1.2 Breslow, Clark IV and 1 mitotic rate, no ulceration. I immediately sought out a Mel specialist surgeon and now have quarterly follow ups with a dermatologist at Sloan Kettering. The surgery wasn’t bad for me. My surgeon removed 1 node that turned out to be negative. The recovery was a little more difficult. My doctor told me I could resume life as normal after the surgery. So, I stayed out of work the remainder of the week, still tended to my kids etc…and went back to the gym the following week. My leg continually swelled and I had this enormous egg under the groin incision, was limping, it was really painful. Long story short, had it drained, and given an antibiotic for the infection. So, I suppose my only advice would be to take it easy after the surgery. Give yourself time to heal. I am three weeks out and at about 85% back to normal. It IS a scary disease and should not be taken lightly. You will do fine and keep us posted.

Kelli

Hi – I had the WLE and SNLB done 1/24. The mole was on my right leg between the inner thigh and back of leg. I didn’t even bother me, was so small, but I had this voice telling me, just get it removed. Went to my primary who also said he wasn’t concerned, but did a punch biopsy. I forgot about it and 7 days later got the call that it was Malignant Melanoma. The only one that knew was my husband because I was out when the doctor called and he pressured the doctor in to telling him. I didn’t tell my parents (they are out of state) or anyone. I was scared, sick, upset etc. because of the unknown. I didn’t want to put the people I love through that and decided that until I knew what my next steps were going to be, I wasn’t going to say anything. I had a 1.2 Breslow, Clark IV and 1 mitotic rate, no ulceration. I immediately sought out a Mel specialist surgeon and now have quarterly follow ups with a dermatologist at Sloan Kettering. The surgery wasn’t bad for me. My surgeon removed 1 node that turned out to be negative. The recovery was a little more difficult. My doctor told me I could resume life as normal after the surgery. So, I stayed out of work the remainder of the week, still tended to my kids etc…and went back to the gym the following week. My leg continually swelled and I had this enormous egg under the groin incision, was limping, it was really painful. Long story short, had it drained, and given an antibiotic for the infection. So, I suppose my only advice would be to take it easy after the surgery. Give yourself time to heal. I am three weeks out and at about 85% back to normal. It IS a scary disease and should not be taken lightly. You will do fine and keep us posted.

Kelli

Hi, Blair. The mitotic rate is the rate at which the melanoma is growing. The lower it is, the better. It should be on your pathology report. A high mitotic rate increases the chance of a positive sentinel node. Let us know how you come out.

Hi, Blair. The mitotic rate is the rate at which the melanoma is growing. The lower it is, the better. It should be on your pathology report. A high mitotic rate increases the chance of a positive sentinel node. Let us know how you come out.

Hi, Blair. The mitotic rate is the rate at which the melanoma is growing. The lower it is, the better. It should be on your pathology report. A high mitotic rate increases the chance of a positive sentinel node. Let us know how you come out.