Bethharte

Most Dermatologists and Oncologists would prefer you to have bare nails when yoou go for follow upp exams in order to do a complete check.

I had the radical dissection inmy left groin seven years ago. It was in to the second year when I developed stage one lymphedema after finishing and recovering from my year of Interferon A. In the beginning I used sports compression and spanks with elevation but as I am in nursing staying off my feet was not an option. After visiting and discussing with the Lymphedema nurse and my oncologist I chose a newer outlook based on newer research stating that slow but persistant exercise including weights, combined with compression would help to gain control over the lynphedema which it did. I do Zumba 4-5 times a week, work out with TRX resistant straps as well as work on my feet. I have flare up when I get sick, accidently injure my leg, get a flue shot, anything that initiates a prolonged immune response but the flare ups are consistantly fewer and do not last as long. I basically wear my "spanks" and preform my exercises for a few days and my leg is back within normal limits. I have by no means found it to be a life altering complication. I am actually more active now than when I began my journey

Your lymph are the sentinals of your bodys immune system. If they are swollen it means that your body's is fighting. They swell if you have an infection, a virus , a more than superficial cut or laceration. It would not be unusual for your near by lymph node to swell after a surgery, it's expected. It is highly unlikely that a melanoma classed as insitu would have spread to a lymph node but it is possible that your doctor is being dillligent and asking for a specialists advice about weather a Sentinal Node Biopsy is neccesary  Going forward you will find that during most follow up visits palpating your lymph nodes will be a routine just like taking your blood pressure or listening to your heart and lungs

Best to goo back to the ABC'c: A=asymetrical, B=border ( is it changing or defind), C=Color ( is it more than one or dark) E=evolve ( is it evolving or changing. Why not first start with you General Practioner. Many times they can be the first stop and will refer to surgeon for biopsy prior to having a dermatologist appointment.

I am reluctant to even answer as I said, posting as Anon was a mistake!!! I have recently stated that my information comes from my Oncologist who is one of the top Melanoma Specialists in Canada and has been working with Nivolumab for in his words " ten years". His statistics are gathered from his patients and may not be published in any articlesyou have access to. When gathering information via scholarly scources I try to stay away from any resource published by a pharamacuetical company and stick to peer reviewd articles. Please, I am done with defending myself. If you want to know my track record and my profession try asking in a polite and respectuful manner. I strongly believe we have taken up more than enough time regarding this issue so if you could kindly agree with me to end this discussion I would be very appreciative. My Oncologist is Dr. Richard Tozer at the Juravinski Cancer. 

I agree completley! When I was diagnosed stage IIIA in 2010 Inteferon and "Wait and Watch' were my only options. Because of my somewhat reduced risk factor as a IIIA I was not a candidate for the clinical trials offered. In hindsight I am not sure if the Interferon did anything to delay my recent recurrence but emotionally, I wasn't ready to just move to the watch and wait phase. 

The link shared said "page not found" I am getting my statistic from My Oncologist who is a leading Melanoma Specialist at Juravinski Cancer Centre in Hamilton Ontario and has been working with Nivolumab for what he says is "the last ten years". 

Sorry, it was a mistake. I couldn't edit and repair to show my name after it posted.  I have made them before and will make them again and I don't believe I am alone. I really don't believe that making that one mistake automatically destroys my credibility. Are we truly that superficial? Why not just ask my nameand mention that it posted as Anon? I am done discussing this, there are much more serious issues on everyones mind. 

As others have mentioned your doctors will have a follow up plan but I found it difficult emotionally moving from the active treatment stage to the follow up stage. Kind of like a baby bird being thrown out of the nest to fly. I went through this in 2010 after being diagnosed with stage IIIA and following surgery, completing 52 weeks of Interferon. I found that I felt I was no longer as emotionally vested in fighting the Melanoma. During my year long Interferon treatment I had made the decision to return to school and enter the health care professions. I found myself using the opportunities to complete research papers, presentations etc. to educate others on the dangers of Melanoma. This lead to reaching out to The Melanoma Network and eventually becoming a peer support and patient experience speaker at their information seminars. I have found that this has kept me feeling like I am still actively fighting the disease as well as current on new research. I have experienced a recent recurrence ( local) after almost 10 years which was taken care of via surgery. I will be starting Opdivo in February and continue to offer peer support as well as write and speak. I find it helps the mental and emotional aspects of this disease. It might not be for you but it is just one of the options.

I was diagnosed with stage IIIA SS Melanoma in 2010. After complete resection of tumor and lymphnodes in left groin I chose to do the Interferon therapy. I did four weeks IV and 48 weeks self subcutaneus injection. It was rough. I knew the odds, statistics and physical challenges that would come but I weighed that against the mental and emotional aspects of not using everything at my disposal. I was afraid if I didn't use it and had a recurrence I would regret not trying. Mental and emotional health and outlook have a huge impact on our immune system and I wanted mine at peak preformance. I lasted the year and remained recurrence free until this past October when I found a small lump in the region where my lymph nodes were removed. I have turned out to be lucky again as all the remaing nodes tested were negative. though there is no pathological proof I believe that due to the fact not all lymph nodes can be taken and tested one of the ones left had microscopic disease. The adjuvant Interferon helped my body fight it for the last few years until it finally started to grow. It was removed on January 7th. In February I will start Opdivo, Nivolumab, as an adjuvant treatment just as I did Interferon years ago. Opdivo has a statistical 85% success rate of shrinking tumors and discouraging recurrence while Interferon had 20%. As Melanoma is one of the trickiest of all cancers, cells can hide for years and people have been know to have recurrence as much as thirty years later I will most decidedly choose Opdivo or wait and see. This is my experience and thoughts. In my mind stage III is way to close to IV to not take advantage of all the new and breakthrough therapies we have in are arsenalt now.

You could also talk to your surgeons nurse or the nurse who is monitoring your wound care.  Everyone heals at a different pace.  What is the size of the incision and depth ? How long has it been since your surgery? What kind of dressing is on the site? Is the site still dry after it "pulls" No heat, redness or swelling right? Some minor pulling would be within normal limits as the skin heals.