Scalp Melanoma

HI there. I'm in New Hope; where in Hunterdon Country are you?  And who treated your scalp melanoma?  Which surgeon? Which oncologist?

My experience is a little different than yours in some ways, similar in others.  I found a lump in my neck; had it removed by a local ENT.  The local physician is a good guy, but he left a large scar and didn't dot all the "i's" and cross the "t's".  In my case, the issue wasn't a scalp problem, but the possibility that he missed something more serious that might led to systemic disease.  I then took my case to the University of Pennsylvania, where they have world-class care and doctors who have done amazing things for me.

My suggestion:  get to a first-class oncology center ASAP, and work with them.  Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York (one of the best in the country) has a satellite somewhere in Somerset County.  I believe that University of Pennsylvania had a satellite up this way (maybe Trenton?)  Either of those would be excellent choices — not that the Regional Center in Hunterdon is a poor place (it's not!), but the people with more experience will have more and better solutions.

Good luck in your search and fight, and you'll find that this board is filled with wonderful, caring, well-informed people who can help you.

Roger

HI there. I'm in New Hope; where in Hunterdon Country are you?  And who treated your scalp melanoma?  Which surgeon? Which oncologist?

My experience is a little different than yours in some ways, similar in others.  I found a lump in my neck; had it removed by a local ENT.  The local physician is a good guy, but he left a large scar and didn't dot all the "i's" and cross the "t's".  In my case, the issue wasn't a scalp problem, but the possibility that he missed something more serious that might led to systemic disease.  I then took my case to the University of Pennsylvania, where they have world-class care and doctors who have done amazing things for me.

My suggestion:  get to a first-class oncology center ASAP, and work with them.  Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York (one of the best in the country) has a satellite somewhere in Somerset County.  I believe that University of Pennsylvania had a satellite up this way (maybe Trenton?)  Either of those would be excellent choices — not that the Regional Center in Hunterdon is a poor place (it's not!), but the people with more experience will have more and better solutions.

Good luck in your search and fight, and you'll find that this board is filled with wonderful, caring, well-informed people who can help you.

Roger

Hi truwill, we could be twins!

I am a 55 year old woman with a baseball sized bald spot on my head and numbness from my head down to my shoulder from  a skin graft on the head and a neck dissection. They took 23 nodes from my neck and 2 had melanoma. Yes, the bald spot is sunken in, I call it may moon crater. My grandkids laugh and ask me to "moon them" and I lift my hair and they scream and run. I am able to cover the spot somewhat by growing my remaining hair longer and combing it just right.

I will have even less hair when I finish biochemo and radiation. The hair will grow back after chemo but not after radiation. My scalp will then have a permanent bald spot twice what I (and you) have now. I can get a free wig but may just stick to hats and scarves.

All the doctors say it is very unusual for a woman who never went in the sun much, with plenty of hair, to get scalp melanoma. Guess we are just special.

I am so happy to be alive, I really don't care about the hair. I have stage 3 nodular melanoma, very high mitotic index (16). And today is my 1 year survival anniversary! Some measure survival after 5 years, we cool ones measure it from the date of diagnosis, I was diagnosed one year ago today.  

I have known 3 people who have died of cancer in the past 4 years so I was blessed to be able to spend Christmas with my kids and grandchildren. And Saturday is my grandson's 5th birthday party and he and I will pary hard. So I don't have much time to think about hair.

At the risk of sounding mean, you need to shift perspective. Yes, hair is nice but melanoma is a deadly monster that kills. And unless you have stage 1 or 2, you may be in for the fight of your life, literally. Hair is just hair.

Nicki, stage 3b, dx 12/29/2009, local recurrence 10/2010

Hi truwill, we could be twins!

I am a 55 year old woman with a baseball sized bald spot on my head and numbness from my head down to my shoulder from  a skin graft on the head and a neck dissection. They took 23 nodes from my neck and 2 had melanoma. Yes, the bald spot is sunken in, I call it may moon crater. My grandkids laugh and ask me to "moon them" and I lift my hair and they scream and run. I am able to cover the spot somewhat by growing my remaining hair longer and combing it just right.

I will have even less hair when I finish biochemo and radiation. The hair will grow back after chemo but not after radiation. My scalp will then have a permanent bald spot twice what I (and you) have now. I can get a free wig but may just stick to hats and scarves.

All the doctors say it is very unusual for a woman who never went in the sun much, with plenty of hair, to get scalp melanoma. Guess we are just special.

I am so happy to be alive, I really don't care about the hair. I have stage 3 nodular melanoma, very high mitotic index (16). And today is my 1 year survival anniversary! Some measure survival after 5 years, we cool ones measure it from the date of diagnosis, I was diagnosed one year ago today.  

I have known 3 people who have died of cancer in the past 4 years so I was blessed to be able to spend Christmas with my kids and grandchildren. And Saturday is my grandson's 5th birthday party and he and I will pary hard. So I don't have much time to think about hair.

At the risk of sounding mean, you need to shift perspective. Yes, hair is nice but melanoma is a deadly monster that kills. And unless you have stage 1 or 2, you may be in for the fight of your life, literally. Hair is just hair.

Nicki, stage 3b, dx 12/29/2009, local recurrence 10/2010