What can I do for a friend who has been recently diagnosed with melanoma?

We're going through this right now, and it's really been an emotional roller-coaster.  I suppose different people handle the issue in different ways.  Perhaps some just fold up and cry.  Others (like us) get busy and start researching.  Surely everyone gains an immediate appreciation for just what a day means.

Looking back over the past few weeks, I think the things we have appreciated the most are things that have saved us time and research.  For instance, a couple of neighbors came to the door with food, so that we didn't have to fix dinner.  They did this when we were busy with surgery.  One of the dishes was perfect to spoon up and eat with the 4-hourly doses of percocet throughout the day/night.

Another neighbor has helped us with research.  For instance, we were trying to figure out whether any special methods were required for preserving specimens of the tumor so that genetic testing could be done.  We were concerned, because nobody was talking about genetic testing, nor did anyone seem to be able to answer our questions.  For instance, would formalin preservation make the specimen unsuitable for testing later?  Nobody knew!  So one neighbor, an oceanographer, asked a couple of friends of friends who researched cancer in medical school.  They returned the answer that yes, formalin-preserved and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens were fine, as long as they weren't stained.  They even sourced a lab for us that could do the histological work.  And with a relatively quick phone call, we were able to confirm that we still had sufficient FFPE tissue available for genetic analysis. This bit of research was a HUGE help to us.  We were able to tend to other matters and questions.

What we had the least of was (and is) time.  The things that helped us the most were ways that our friends and neighbors could free up some of our time.

We're going through this right now, and it's really been an emotional roller-coaster.  I suppose different people handle the issue in different ways.  Perhaps some just fold up and cry.  Others (like us) get busy and start researching.  Surely everyone gains an immediate appreciation for just what a day means.

Looking back over the past few weeks, I think the things we have appreciated the most are things that have saved us time and research.  For instance, a couple of neighbors came to the door with food, so that we didn't have to fix dinner.  They did this when we were busy with surgery.  One of the dishes was perfect to spoon up and eat with the 4-hourly doses of percocet throughout the day/night.

Another neighbor has helped us with research.  For instance, we were trying to figure out whether any special methods were required for preserving specimens of the tumor so that genetic testing could be done.  We were concerned, because nobody was talking about genetic testing, nor did anyone seem to be able to answer our questions.  For instance, would formalin preservation make the specimen unsuitable for testing later?  Nobody knew!  So one neighbor, an oceanographer, asked a couple of friends of friends who researched cancer in medical school.  They returned the answer that yes, formalin-preserved and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens were fine, as long as they weren't stained.  They even sourced a lab for us that could do the histological work.  And with a relatively quick phone call, we were able to confirm that we still had sufficient FFPE tissue available for genetic analysis. This bit of research was a HUGE help to us.  We were able to tend to other matters and questions.

What we had the least of was (and is) time.  The things that helped us the most were ways that our friends and neighbors could free up some of our time.

We're going through this right now, and it's really been an emotional roller-coaster.  I suppose different people handle the issue in different ways.  Perhaps some just fold up and cry.  Others (like us) get busy and start researching.  Surely everyone gains an immediate appreciation for just what a day means.

Looking back over the past few weeks, I think the things we have appreciated the most are things that have saved us time and research.  For instance, a couple of neighbors came to the door with food, so that we didn't have to fix dinner.  They did this when we were busy with surgery.  One of the dishes was perfect to spoon up and eat with the 4-hourly doses of percocet throughout the day/night.

Another neighbor has helped us with research.  For instance, we were trying to figure out whether any special methods were required for preserving specimens of the tumor so that genetic testing could be done.  We were concerned, because nobody was talking about genetic testing, nor did anyone seem to be able to answer our questions.  For instance, would formalin preservation make the specimen unsuitable for testing later?  Nobody knew!  So one neighbor, an oceanographer, asked a couple of friends of friends who researched cancer in medical school.  They returned the answer that yes, formalin-preserved and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens were fine, as long as they weren't stained.  They even sourced a lab for us that could do the histological work.  And with a relatively quick phone call, we were able to confirm that we still had sufficient FFPE tissue available for genetic analysis. This bit of research was a HUGE help to us.  We were able to tend to other matters and questions.

What we had the least of was (and is) time.  The things that helped us the most were ways that our friends and neighbors could free up some of our time.