KAP715

I believe what the report is saying is that you don’t have clear margins and will need a wide excision to remove all the melanoma cells.

Have you talked to your doc about possibly switching to immunotherapy like pembro or nivo? The side effects may not be as bad unless of course you’ve already been on PD-1.

I got bad psoriasis on the palms of my hands on pembro alone. My onc sent me to my dermatologist and I was given clobetasol propitianate ointment to rub on my hands twice a day. It’s a pretty strong topical steroid and cleared it up within a week. I highly suggest you visit your derm and have it treated with a topical.

My primary was on my upper back also and yes you are correct primaries on the trunk have a worse prognosis but the vast majority of stage one disease is handled with a wide excision and SLNB. As long as your lymph nodes are clear you probably will be done with this. Just be sure to follow up with your derm on a regular basis.

I had to go on prednisone for a month also for the same reason. I actually started at 80 or 90 mg per day and then tapered down 5 mg every 2 days. It wasn’t bad my numbers started lowering immediately. I went for blood work once a week. Make sure to have your doc give you a script for omperazole because prednisone causes terrible heartburn.

I’m new here but your blog posts are some of the best most easy to understand info on melanoma I have found. Thank you for all you do.

I hope the radiation works for you. God bless!

Praying for you. For me it’s the MRI’s that are the worst…hate that jack hammer noise they make. Good luck to you hope everything turns out well!

If the margins aren’t clear you will most likely be scheduled for a wide excision and a sentinel lymph node biopsy at your next appointment. You will most likely remain at stage 2 unless the SLNB comes back positive for melanoma at which point you’d be considered stage 3.

I had a modified radical neck dissection on the left side. Surgeon removed my melanoma lymph node along with all the lymph nodes that he was able to get to. I had neoadjuvant and adjuvant pembro which I progressed on. So now I’m having a WLE on my neck next week with a skin graft followed by tafinlar/mekinist targeted therapy as an adjuvant. It sounds terrible but I’m relatively young(39) and have handled the surgeries and treatments without too many adverse effects.

Honestly it was so long ago I don’t remember the details of my primary. I was clear for almost 5 years until I felt a lump right above my collar bone. I knew immediately what that meant. Best advice I can give is to not obsess too much over it because their is nothing you can do to prevent a recurrence. Just stay out of the sun, wear sunscreen, and remain vigilant about checking your skin and lymph nodes.

I know it’s impossible not to worry but keep a close eye on your skin and check your lymph nodes in your neck, armpits, and groin on a regular basis. Any hard lumps should be checked by your doctor immediately. Other than that try to live your life as normal as possible. Best of luck to you!