Hi, my husband has melanoma and we are getting conflicting opinions on radiation. We are quickly learning there is no concensus on treatment when it comes to mel! The brief history is my husband had a malignant mole on his back 9 years ago in 2002. In 2002 he had a wide excision and a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy. After 6 years of regular follow up he was let go in 2008. This October he found a mass under his left arm-the same area as the SLNB in 2002. On Nov 2 he had an axillary lymph node dissection. There was only one involved no
Hi, my husband has melanoma and we are getting conflicting opinions on radiation. We are quickly learning there is no concensus on treatment when it comes to mel! The brief history is my husband had a malignant mole on his back 9 years ago in 2002. In 2002 he had a wide excision and a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy. After 6 years of regular follow up he was let go in 2008. This October he found a mass under his left arm-the same area as the SLNB in 2002. On Nov 2 he had an axillary lymph node dissection. There was only one involved node that measured 4.7cm with no extra capsulary extension. Everything else was negative including the PET and brain CT. The surgical oncologist has a hunch that mel was missed on SLNB in 2002 and it is very possible they got it all during this surgery. The decision is ours but she thinks it would not be out of line to decline radiation due to the risk of lymphedema. We have seen a medical oncologist at Mayo and he is also very cautious about radiation. The radiation oncologist believes radiation is worth the risk. Any thoughts? Mayo did recommend Leukine which we are very seriously considering. The only other option we have found in MN is a head to head trial of IPI vs. Interferon. We are not at all interested in Interferon and like the reduced side effects of Leukine. Any guidance on Leukine or radiation would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks! Julie
