Thank you so much for sharing. When my Dermatologist performed my WLE, he was going to do the 1 cm x 1 cm margins. I told him better too much than too little, and he did 1.5 cm x 1,7 cm. The Oncologist I saw said those were fantastic margins. He had said that .5 cm x .5 cm were minimum, but 1 cm x 1cm were preferred, I am hoping everything was caught and removed. I asked my Dermatologist and he said that if the original biopsy or the WLE showed something more than in situ, they would have advised us. I can only trust and Pray that was correct. I had not heard of the other Pathology technique you discussed. Sounds thorough!
The interesting thing about Lentigo Maligna is that it can remain for years as noninvasive (in situ). I even heard of a case where it remained that way for over twenty-years before it became invasive. I also read that Lentigo Maligna usually presents on the face or arms, areas with frequent sun exposure. It also is generally found on older people. When i read that I was like…"Hey, I am only 50"…but I guess that is old…in a way.
I appreciate the information on the lymph nodes. I could not find anything specific other than melanoma flows to the nearest lymph node and stays within a region. It sounds like you have some reactive lymph nodes (or "shotty" as they were once called) as do I. It makes them easy to feel, but can also lend itself to paranoia in that they are very palpable and, then, not that reliable because they are so skewed.
I am glad you caught your Melanoma so early, and I Pray you have no more recurrences or new occurences.
God Bless.
Lyn
