Sentinel Nodes

I look at it like this…

The dye is injected near the melanoma and it starts draining though your lymphatic system, along with the lymphatic fluid. They are only interesting in sampling the first lymph node it reaches – this is the sentinel node. Sometimes the lymph drains by more than one route, so there is more than one 'first' or sentinel node.

The dye will go on, lighting up more and more lymph nodes until it is too dilute to detect.

They won't want to take away any more nodes than is necessary.

I look at it like this…

The dye is injected near the melanoma and it starts draining though your lymphatic system, along with the lymphatic fluid. They are only interesting in sampling the first lymph node it reaches – this is the sentinel node. Sometimes the lymph drains by more than one route, so there is more than one 'first' or sentinel node.

The dye will go on, lighting up more and more lymph nodes until it is too dilute to detect.

They won't want to take away any more nodes than is necessary.

I look at it like this…

The dye is injected near the melanoma and it starts draining though your lymphatic system, along with the lymphatic fluid. They are only interesting in sampling the first lymph node it reaches – this is the sentinel node. Sometimes the lymph drains by more than one route, so there is more than one 'first' or sentinel node.

The dye will go on, lighting up more and more lymph nodes until it is too dilute to detect.

They won't want to take away any more nodes than is necessary.

I just had lymph node surdery last week.  Two lit up, but they only took one, the sentinel node.  They explained it to me that the only way any cancer could get to the other nodes would be thru the sentinel node, therefore if the sentinel node is clean, the others are as well.

Matt

I just had lymph node surdery last week.  Two lit up, but they only took one, the sentinel node.  They explained it to me that the only way any cancer could get to the other nodes would be thru the sentinel node, therefore if the sentinel node is clean, the others are as well.

Matt

I just had lymph node surdery last week.  Two lit up, but they only took one, the sentinel node.  They explained it to me that the only way any cancer could get to the other nodes would be thru the sentinel node, therefore if the sentinel node is clean, the others are as well.

Matt

My surgeon took three however there were more that "lit" up. He felt that the additional nodes that lit up would have gone through the sentinel node so left them in place.  Told me that if the nodes they took ended up positive for melanoma then they would take all in the groin and pelvis nodes later with dismal results of healing for my foot.  Yikes!  Thankfully the nods they took were negative.  Still NED since 2/2013!

My surgeon took three however there were more that "lit" up. He felt that the additional nodes that lit up would have gone through the sentinel node so left them in place.  Told me that if the nodes they took ended up positive for melanoma then they would take all in the groin and pelvis nodes later with dismal results of healing for my foot.  Yikes!  Thankfully the nods they took were negative.  Still NED since 2/2013!

My surgeon took three however there were more that "lit" up. He felt that the additional nodes that lit up would have gone through the sentinel node so left them in place.  Told me that if the nodes they took ended up positive for melanoma then they would take all in the groin and pelvis nodes later with dismal results of healing for my foot.  Yikes!  Thankfully the nods they took were negative.  Still NED since 2/2013!