I have almost nothing to add other than that it's probably important to get that second opinion at MDA asap, if only to avoid a potential situation where you husband has started a treatment locally only to be encouraged to take a different approach at Anderson. The local cancer specialist we first met with suggested a different treatment approach than did the melanoma specialist he now sees at UCLA.
Also, the advice to let your child's school know is so important. Our son lost an older sibling at about the same age as your little one. He had many questions about his step-brother's death, which was suicide. We were advised to answer his questions, but not innundate him with information. They will only ask about things that they're capable of understanding, so the trick is to respond simply and leave it at that.
Now our son is 22 and in college. When we broke the news to him about his Dad's metastatic melanoma, it was very important tor us to emphasize the medical advances that have been made in recent years because his understanding of the disease prior to that point was that it was a quick and lethal killer. But we knew what we needed to communicate to him because, as you do your own, we know our child.
I'm sorry you and your family are dealing with this. I hope you find lots of support among your family and friends and on this forum, as so many of us have. ~ Carol
