@stevenk
Forum Replies Created
- Replies
-
-
- August 5, 2011 at 6:12 am
I've had pains and aches in the muscles near my incision, Denise, but not as bad as what you describe. Yeah, you should get your doctor to look into it. I suppose it could be connected to the wound healing process if it is near your incision.
Best regards, Steve
-
- August 5, 2011 at 6:12 am
I've had pains and aches in the muscles near my incision, Denise, but not as bad as what you describe. Yeah, you should get your doctor to look into it. I suppose it could be connected to the wound healing process if it is near your incision.
Best regards, Steve
-
- July 28, 2011 at 2:25 am
Nicole,
About the possibility of lymphedema: I know that the SNLB procedure was developed as a way to determine if cancer has spread to the nearby lymph nodes without having to remove all the nodes and therefore putting you at risk for lymphedema. They only remove a few nodes that they have identified as the sentinel nodes – nodes that are first in line to get the cancer if it has spread. Most people don't develop complications like lymphedema from the SNLB. What does your doctor say about it?
Best regards, Steve
-
- July 28, 2011 at 2:25 am
Nicole,
About the possibility of lymphedema: I know that the SNLB procedure was developed as a way to determine if cancer has spread to the nearby lymph nodes without having to remove all the nodes and therefore putting you at risk for lymphedema. They only remove a few nodes that they have identified as the sentinel nodes – nodes that are first in line to get the cancer if it has spread. Most people don't develop complications like lymphedema from the SNLB. What does your doctor say about it?
Best regards, Steve
-
- August 2, 2011 at 5:50 pm
Thank you again, Janner. Lumping everything with a mitotic rate > 1 into the same category explains why my first surgical onc didn't feel the need to get the slides reread to obtain a specific number before he determined the percentage chance that it has spread to my nodes. He really didn't want me to get the SNB, which might explain why he ignored my requests to schedule it. Yeah, a PET scan doesn't sound sensitive enough. I'm not going to pursue it.
As far as getting the SNB after the WLE goes, I've found and read a couple of studies that showed that it remains a very reliable procedure after the WLE. However, the complexity of the drainage on the face and neck may not have been taken into account by those general studies. Even if it is iffy, an SNB that finds nothing could reduce the already low percentage that it has spread and give me added peace of mind. Do I really want an invasive procedure that's not going to be definite, though? I'm going to let my new surgeon's experience guide me on that.
The value of getting an SNB in my situation is a dilemna I've been stuck on for awhile now. Apparently, it is a raging controversy within medical circles. I'm terrified of getting the procedure done on my face and neck and so I'm not sure I'll be able to stubbornly insist on it if I encounter yet another doctor who's against it. My new derm is also leaning slightly against it. I could perhaps be persuaded into monitoring the nodes with ultrasound. I'm preparing a long list of questions for my new surgical onc.
Best regards,
Steve
-
- August 2, 2011 at 5:50 pm
Thank you again, Janner. Lumping everything with a mitotic rate > 1 into the same category explains why my first surgical onc didn't feel the need to get the slides reread to obtain a specific number before he determined the percentage chance that it has spread to my nodes. He really didn't want me to get the SNB, which might explain why he ignored my requests to schedule it. Yeah, a PET scan doesn't sound sensitive enough. I'm not going to pursue it.
As far as getting the SNB after the WLE goes, I've found and read a couple of studies that showed that it remains a very reliable procedure after the WLE. However, the complexity of the drainage on the face and neck may not have been taken into account by those general studies. Even if it is iffy, an SNB that finds nothing could reduce the already low percentage that it has spread and give me added peace of mind. Do I really want an invasive procedure that's not going to be definite, though? I'm going to let my new surgeon's experience guide me on that.
The value of getting an SNB in my situation is a dilemna I've been stuck on for awhile now. Apparently, it is a raging controversy within medical circles. I'm terrified of getting the procedure done on my face and neck and so I'm not sure I'll be able to stubbornly insist on it if I encounter yet another doctor who's against it. My new derm is also leaning slightly against it. I could perhaps be persuaded into monitoring the nodes with ultrasound. I'm preparing a long list of questions for my new surgical onc.
Best regards,
Steve
-
- July 27, 2011 at 6:13 am
OK, I read your pathology report and I think I understand better what has happened so far. Sounds like they did an excision biopsy and the excision removed the entire tumor with clear (but narrow) margins all around the sample.
BUT… why has so much time been allowed to pass with still no WLE being performed?You want them to do a WLE. You NEED them to do a WLE. The Sentinel Node Biopsy is necessary, too. Your mitotic rate of 2 shows that the tumor was pretty aggressive. That means there's more of a chance that it has spread to your lymph nodes. I think your doctors are right that they need to find out if it has spread to your lymph nodes. I think the odds are still pretty low that it has spread, but not as low as if your mitotic rate was zero, for example.
Make sure you have a good and respected surgeon doing the WLE and SNB and I think they should be done ASAP.
Best Regards, Steve
-
