› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Progressively worse groin pain after Stage 1A melanoma on leg. Ultrasound clear.
- This topic has 7 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 2 months ago by
chelstarr.
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- January 18, 2018 at 5:31 pm
I'm hoping someone here might be able to offer an educated guess as to what's going on with my groin. I've asked my oncologist and dermatologist about it, and they both say it's nothing to worry about, but it's pretty terrifying having groin pain on the same side that the melanoma was removed, and not having the doctors give me any real idea at all about what might be causing that pain.
The situation is as follows. I was diagnosed with Stage 1A melanoma last May (2017). The biopsy reported 0.38 thickness, no ulceration, mitotic rate of zero. I was extremely relieved at the time because I knew the biopsy report was about as good I could have hoped for, short of it being melanoma in situ.
The problem I'm having now is that starting about a month or two after the WLE, I've had groin pain (same side as the melanoma) that has been getting progressively worse. It started with barely noticable groin pain that I wasn't even sure was real or just imagined. Over the past six months or so, it's gotten progressively worse to the point where now I feel almost constant tingling on my groin.
There are no palpaple lymph nodes in the area that's bothering me. I went to my oncologist and he felt around the area and told me it's nothing to worry about (but didn't offer any suggestoin as to what might be causing the pain). He said I could have an ultrasound done on the area if I was really concerned, so I did that, and it came back fine. No swollen lymph nodes or anything else they would consider alarming.
I also saw my dermatologist and told him about this and he said it's nothing to worry about. I asked if the WLE itself could be causing my groin pain, and he seemed to nod in agreement to that being a possibility, but he stopped short of actually giving me any personal opinion on why my groin is constantly sore.
My foot on the leg that had the melanoma has been swollen since the WLE, but it's been getting better gradually. A couple of months after the WLE, it was extremely swollen, and now the swelling is barely noticable (but still a bit swollen compared to my other foot). I might be able to comfortably assume that the groin pain is related to the foot swelling, but if the two were related, it seems backwards that the groin tingling would be getting worse as the foot swelling gets better.
So that's where I am today. A constantly tingling groin on the same side as my melanoma/WLE, a clear ultrasound, and no real idea at all about why or whether I should be worried about it.
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- January 19, 2018 at 3:44 am
pulled muscle, hip joint problem, strain… there are other reasons why you may be having groin pain, melanoma would not be the first option for someone your stage. Take the good news for what it is. Hope it goes away soon for you.
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- January 22, 2018 at 1:12 am
Hello… Did you favor the foot when it was swollen and perhaps your alignment is off? Often times when we compensate for things, it affects others. Does it warrant seeing a physical therapist?
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- January 22, 2018 at 3:42 pm
Perhaps ask your primary care doc about getting an xray and checking inflammatory markers with a blood lab? That could solidify or rule out a number of potential causitive issues.
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- January 24, 2018 at 5:07 am
I had vulvar melanoma with radical vulvar surgery and bilateral inguinal (groin area) lymph node biopsies. For some reason, ever since then I have had this chronic pain in my right groin area. Sometimes it radiates up into my hip bone. Sometimes it causes numbness and tingling down my inner thigh. I have had a half dozen imaging studies, even a colonoscopy (ugh), and nothing was found. I recently had yet another scan, the results of which I am still waiting on, but I also have lymphedema in my right foot and ankle. It does come and go.
I share this because my oncologist has suggested that when surgery is done in any region, it is possible to have referred pain from that region to surrounding areas because nerves will be damaged (transected) in any surgery. It is also possible to have adhesions, which are like internal strands of scar tissue, form around areas of surgery, which also can put pressure and in some cases cause pain. I am told the type of pain and numbness I feel in the groin is very common in women who have had breast cancer with lymph node biopsy of the axillary region. They will commonly have pain/numbness/tingling that can radiate into a shoulder or down an arm.
I am told this can last a few weeks, months, or even years.
I don't know if that is what you have. To be honest, I don't know if it that is what I have! But it is the best explanation I have so far.
My oncologist has been very good about watching the area for the slightest sign of melanoma recurrence. ANY time she finds anything suspicious at all, back for a scan I go. So far (knock on wood) I have been lucky. I am 5 years out and have been dealing with this chronic pain for several years now. I am learning to control my lymphedema with support stockings and physical therapy (I am pretty young for all this, but that is melanoma for you!).
I don't know if this is applicable to your situation, but you asked for thoughts/speculation, and this has been my experience. Surgery does cut through nerves and nerve connections that have not yet grown back (some never do but many do) and can cause numbness, tingling, even aching pain, as can surgical adhesions. It is just a thought. My (nonprofessional) advice is to keep in close followup and make sure the area is checked regularly for anything "scary." If nothing "scary" is found, as I tell my oncologist, then I am fine with learning to deal with the discomfort, hoping eventually it will fade.
Good luck and hopefully yours will not last nearly as long as mine! I had 3 vulvectomies, one of them radical, a clitorectomy, and bilateral inguinal lymph node biopsies to contend with, so if you are dealing with a form of temporary neuropathic (nerve) pain, you may in fact have MUCH better odds. 🙂
Cheri
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- February 20, 2018 at 1:21 am
Thank you very much Cheri. Your response was extremely helpful, particulary what you wrote about referred pain and damanged nerves. I hope that's all I'm dealing with. My oncologist scheduled me for a CT scan in a couple of weeks, so hopefully that will rule out any bad scenarios, in which case I think I'll be comfortable moving forward and just tolerating the hip pain without constantly worrying about what's causing it.
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