› Forums › General Melanoma Community › stage 2 melanoma with 1 bad lymph node?
- This topic has 18 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 8 months ago by
alicia.
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- August 14, 2012 at 1:48 pm
someone i know was diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma, lymph node biopsy was performed and one lymph node came out bad, yet it was still stage 2 localised?? isn't spreading to lymph node considered stage 3? Lymph node was removed.
someone i know was diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma, lymph node biopsy was performed and one lymph node came out bad, yet it was still stage 2 localised?? isn't spreading to lymph node considered stage 3? Lymph node was removed.
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- August 14, 2012 at 1:59 pm
You are correct. While the original staging my be Stage II based on depth, once a lymph node is positive for melanoma, the staging now becomes at least Stage III. More info would be needed to determine Stage IIIA/B/C.
Janner
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- August 14, 2012 at 2:05 pm
only one lymph node involved, was removed. she will go to radiation therapy. What are her chances?
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- August 14, 2012 at 2:19 pm
Was the lymph node totally involved? Microscopic disease? In general, radiation isn't all that effective against melanoma. It can be used for localized control – say for example the lymph node had extracapsular extension meaning the cells were no longer confined to the lymph node but had broken out into the surrounding tissue. Radiation can help control that. But if the melanoma were confined totally inside the lymph node and that was removed surgically, radiation isn't typically used much (at least in the US). Is she being seen by a melanoma specialist? Where is she located? Is she having the other lymph nodes removed as well?
As for her chances, no one can say. Surgery is curative in some percentage of stage III disease. In other instances, melanoma can come back months or years later. There are some new treatments for advanced disease which have become available in the last two years so historical survival numbers may not be reflective of current odds.
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- August 14, 2012 at 2:28 pm
right now only one lymph node was removed, she is in illinois the rest came out clear. She is seeing a dermo surgeon who she claims to tbe the best in the area, i am trying to figure things out while clock is ticking. she has no health insurance, i pay.
medicaid and gov insurance denied. i am trying to talk to dr himself but hipaa and she is very difficult to deal with to begin with. i want her on immune therapy and lymph node mapping every month.
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- August 14, 2012 at 2:28 pm
right now only one lymph node was removed, she is in illinois the rest came out clear. She is seeing a dermo surgeon who she claims to tbe the best in the area, i am trying to figure things out while clock is ticking. she has no health insurance, i pay.
medicaid and gov insurance denied. i am trying to talk to dr himself but hipaa and she is very difficult to deal with to begin with. i want her on immune therapy and lymph node mapping every month.
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- August 14, 2012 at 2:28 pm
right now only one lymph node was removed, she is in illinois the rest came out clear. She is seeing a dermo surgeon who she claims to tbe the best in the area, i am trying to figure things out while clock is ticking. she has no health insurance, i pay.
medicaid and gov insurance denied. i am trying to talk to dr himself but hipaa and she is very difficult to deal with to begin with. i want her on immune therapy and lymph node mapping every month.
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- August 14, 2012 at 2:45 pm
Interferon (immune therapy for stage III) is very expensive. You might try contacting the manufacturer and seeing if they can provide financial assistance if you choose to go that route. You also might try looking for a clinical trial that compares Interferon to Yervoy. Clinical trials provide the drug free of charge although scans and other routine costs must be handled by insurance or the patient. Also, some states have a high risk insurance pool that you could check out as well. Lymph node mapping isn't something that is typically done – I'm not sure exactly what you mean by that. Ultrasound monitoring to watch for metastases has been done instead of removing all the lymph nodes surgically, but I've not heard of it being used when the lymph nodes have already been removed. You can go to this link to find a NCI designated cancer center – they are likely to have the most options for treatment. http://www.cancer.gov/researchandfunding/extramural/cancercenters/find-a-cancer-center.
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- August 14, 2012 at 2:45 pm
Interferon (immune therapy for stage III) is very expensive. You might try contacting the manufacturer and seeing if they can provide financial assistance if you choose to go that route. You also might try looking for a clinical trial that compares Interferon to Yervoy. Clinical trials provide the drug free of charge although scans and other routine costs must be handled by insurance or the patient. Also, some states have a high risk insurance pool that you could check out as well. Lymph node mapping isn't something that is typically done – I'm not sure exactly what you mean by that. Ultrasound monitoring to watch for metastases has been done instead of removing all the lymph nodes surgically, but I've not heard of it being used when the lymph nodes have already been removed. You can go to this link to find a NCI designated cancer center – they are likely to have the most options for treatment. http://www.cancer.gov/researchandfunding/extramural/cancercenters/find-a-cancer-center.
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- August 14, 2012 at 2:45 pm
Interferon (immune therapy for stage III) is very expensive. You might try contacting the manufacturer and seeing if they can provide financial assistance if you choose to go that route. You also might try looking for a clinical trial that compares Interferon to Yervoy. Clinical trials provide the drug free of charge although scans and other routine costs must be handled by insurance or the patient. Also, some states have a high risk insurance pool that you could check out as well. Lymph node mapping isn't something that is typically done – I'm not sure exactly what you mean by that. Ultrasound monitoring to watch for metastases has been done instead of removing all the lymph nodes surgically, but I've not heard of it being used when the lymph nodes have already been removed. You can go to this link to find a NCI designated cancer center – they are likely to have the most options for treatment. http://www.cancer.gov/researchandfunding/extramural/cancercenters/find-a-cancer-center.
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- August 14, 2012 at 2:19 pm
Was the lymph node totally involved? Microscopic disease? In general, radiation isn't all that effective against melanoma. It can be used for localized control – say for example the lymph node had extracapsular extension meaning the cells were no longer confined to the lymph node but had broken out into the surrounding tissue. Radiation can help control that. But if the melanoma were confined totally inside the lymph node and that was removed surgically, radiation isn't typically used much (at least in the US). Is she being seen by a melanoma specialist? Where is she located? Is she having the other lymph nodes removed as well?
As for her chances, no one can say. Surgery is curative in some percentage of stage III disease. In other instances, melanoma can come back months or years later. There are some new treatments for advanced disease which have become available in the last two years so historical survival numbers may not be reflective of current odds.
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- August 14, 2012 at 2:19 pm
Was the lymph node totally involved? Microscopic disease? In general, radiation isn't all that effective against melanoma. It can be used for localized control – say for example the lymph node had extracapsular extension meaning the cells were no longer confined to the lymph node but had broken out into the surrounding tissue. Radiation can help control that. But if the melanoma were confined totally inside the lymph node and that was removed surgically, radiation isn't typically used much (at least in the US). Is she being seen by a melanoma specialist? Where is she located? Is she having the other lymph nodes removed as well?
As for her chances, no one can say. Surgery is curative in some percentage of stage III disease. In other instances, melanoma can come back months or years later. There are some new treatments for advanced disease which have become available in the last two years so historical survival numbers may not be reflective of current odds.
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- August 14, 2012 at 2:05 pm
only one lymph node involved, was removed. she will go to radiation therapy. What are her chances?
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- August 14, 2012 at 2:05 pm
only one lymph node involved, was removed. she will go to radiation therapy. What are her chances?
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- August 15, 2012 at 11:49 pm
With stage II melanoma the surgeon always removes at least one lymph node to biopsy it. Make sure to ask the pathology results from the lymph node removed. If indeed the cancer has spread to that one lymph node then the patient is staged at stage III. I just wanted you to know that a lymoh node is always removed for biopsy and doesn’t mean the node is bad. They just remove it to check for cancer cells. A lot of surgeons recommend removing more lymph nodes if the sentinel node is positive or doing ultrasound surveillance if micro involved. Best wishes, Alicia -
- August 15, 2012 at 11:49 pm
With stage II melanoma the surgeon always removes at least one lymph node to biopsy it. Make sure to ask the pathology results from the lymph node removed. If indeed the cancer has spread to that one lymph node then the patient is staged at stage III. I just wanted you to know that a lymoh node is always removed for biopsy and doesn’t mean the node is bad. They just remove it to check for cancer cells. A lot of surgeons recommend removing more lymph nodes if the sentinel node is positive or doing ultrasound surveillance if micro involved. Best wishes, Alicia -
- August 15, 2012 at 11:49 pm
With stage II melanoma the surgeon always removes at least one lymph node to biopsy it. Make sure to ask the pathology results from the lymph node removed. If indeed the cancer has spread to that one lymph node then the patient is staged at stage III. I just wanted you to know that a lymoh node is always removed for biopsy and doesn’t mean the node is bad. They just remove it to check for cancer cells. A lot of surgeons recommend removing more lymph nodes if the sentinel node is positive or doing ultrasound surveillance if micro involved. Best wishes, Alicia
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