LizzieWA

I'll call Dr.  Smylie on Monday.  This is really fabulous information.  My mom did have an SNB (sentinol node biopsy?) and it was positive for melanoma (1.3 cm tumor, extracapsular extension).  5 of 9 nodes were positive with evidence of in-transit mets.  Last night, she found 25 more spots on her chest (the original lesion was on her foot), so it looks like the lesions are spreading quickly and are no longer just confined to her leg.  She is very scared.  She also has a sizable lump in her leg under the skin.  The original lesion was Breslow Level V, if I remember correctly; it had been an open wound for 8 months before a Dr finally biopsied it and started us down this path.  

This is all very scary, but hearing your proactive solutions and success stories is incredibly helpful and makes the next journey sound manageable.  Thank you for your generosity.  I will absolutely call Dr. Smylie on Monday.

I should also say that we've paid for a few consults at Fred Hutchinson.  Perhaps that will be a good option as well (although expensive).  I am on the East Coast, so I'll also call NIH. 

Thank you.

I'll call Dr.  Smylie on Monday.  This is really fabulous information.  My mom did have an SNB (sentinol node biopsy?) and it was positive for melanoma (1.3 cm tumor, extracapsular extension).  5 of 9 nodes were positive with evidence of in-transit mets.  Last night, she found 25 more spots on her chest (the original lesion was on her foot), so it looks like the lesions are spreading quickly and are no longer just confined to her leg.  She is very scared.  She also has a sizable lump in her leg under the skin.  The original lesion was Breslow Level V, if I remember correctly; it had been an open wound for 8 months before a Dr finally biopsied it and started us down this path.  

This is all very scary, but hearing your proactive solutions and success stories is incredibly helpful and makes the next journey sound manageable.  Thank you for your generosity.  I will absolutely call Dr. Smylie on Monday.

I should also say that we've paid for a few consults at Fred Hutchinson.  Perhaps that will be a good option as well (although expensive).  I am on the East Coast, so I'll also call NIH. 

Thank you.

Hi Linda, and thank you.  If you can refer us to someone in Edmonton, and if that is where i can find a melanoma specialist, that would be much appreciated.  My mom is in BC, too.  She has worked with some lovely people, but not a melanoma specialist.  If anyone can share more about treatments that are easier to handle, I would greatly appreciate it.  Thanks for the kind and helpful words.  

I don't know if it matters, but the lesions appeared a week ago and have grown from a pinprick to a mole size in that time.  Every day there are more of them.  Today, maybe 5 more than yesterday. 

Hi Linda, and thank you.  If you can refer us to someone in Edmonton, and if that is where i can find a melanoma specialist, that would be much appreciated.  My mom is in BC, too.  She has worked with some lovely people, but not a melanoma specialist.  If anyone can share more about treatments that are easier to handle, I would greatly appreciate it.  Thanks for the kind and helpful words.  

I don't know if it matters, but the lesions appeared a week ago and have grown from a pinprick to a mole size in that time.  Every day there are more of them.  Today, maybe 5 more than yesterday. 

Thank you for your response.  She is being offered chemotherapy (after a CAT), but she's nervous about it, having had post-surgical and radiation complications.  She's in Canada (but the family is in the US), so once we get the scans back, maybe we can look at clinical trials in the US.  Thank you for the encouragement.  I'll look for the success stories.  

Thank you for your response.  She is being offered chemotherapy (after a CAT), but she's nervous about it, having had post-surgical and radiation complications.  She's in Canada (but the family is in the US), so once we get the scans back, maybe we can look at clinical trials in the US.  Thank you for the encouragement.  I'll look for the success stories.