tedtell1

Hi again;
My WLE was on the back of my shoulder. Was very sore and tight, but (I am old, my babies are grown up) I could have held a wee one within a day or two. It was a nine inch excision, but not problematic. Guess it depends on how deep they need to go. MD Anderson is sure a good place according to many. Make sure you stop and enjoy your kiddos and don’t anticipate stuff that hasn’t happened yet. I think you should see more responses soon. Probably the weekend thing. Just know that there are a lot of mommas here. Cancer is an awful word to hear when you have young kiddos, but most people who just have a single positive mole go on get their yearly checks and stay cancer free. You see a lot of people talk about how they progressed here, because the ones who didn’t don’t stay on the forum, they go own with their lives if they ever even come here, so don’t rely on the figures or numbers or stories of people here about progression etc!
More virtual hugs,
Ted

Hi Amanda;
So sorry you are here and are having such a hard time with your diagnosis. I think a little more information might be helpful to others (especially moms) who are responding to your post. You said that you have been diagnosed and are going to have surgery. Is this a wide local excision to establish margins? Or removing tumors seen on scans? If it is a wide local excision (you may see it referred to as the WLE here on the site), that is a standard procedure for anyone who has a mole that has been removed and has been identified as melanoma. It does not mean it has spread, or that you have advanced stage cancer, it is just to make sure they are cleaning your “margins” up. They want to make sure you don’t have any cancer cells lurking on the edge of where the mole was cut out of. So deep breaths and know that you (and your doctors) have this. Are you seeing a melanoma specialist? That is really a good thing too!
Virtual hugs and blessings,
Ted

Hi;
First, please don’t beat yourself up on the second guessing the early treatments etc., it sounds like everything was explained and careful thought was given to your dad’s preexisting medical conditions. Each patient is different and it seems like the entire team, including you were being very observant of your dad
‘s conditions. Secondly, you are an amazing care giver! The most important thing you can give to someone in your dad’s situation is your time. You did that and more. Finally, it sounds like the hospice people were doing their thing, and doing it well. Many patients who have life ending abdominal involvement struggle to eat at the end, unfortunately, that is a reality of the end of life process. Hospice teams are intensely focused on making the patient as comfortable as possible, and it sounds like that is what they did. I hope all the responses that you receive here help you to come to terms with your own second guessing and the commentary from your family. Blessings and virtual hugs coming your way.
P.S.: You say your dad was your world and you don’t know what direction to go, what about working with a cancer related charity in honor of your dad? It might help you with moving along in your journey.
Ted

A big woot woot for you Bill. Here’s to many more years of NED!
Ted

Great news Jen!!! Merry Christmas.
Ted

Amanda, So sorry you are going through this, but glad that treatment seems to be working!
Have you considered putting things in pudding/jello form. You could add protein and fruit etc to both forms. Also have you tried soups? There is so much you can do with soup to add nutrition!
Good luck,
Ted

Good morning;
Please remember that they do WLE’s for severe Atypical’s out of an abundance of caution, that it might turn into something bad, not because it is currently bad! There are very very high chances that the biopsy results of your WLE will show margins clear and nothing else! I am sorry you had to have a WLE, that is no fun, but try to let go until you get the results back. Hoping and praying for good results for you!

Ted

Hi;
I understand your worry, I think we worry about our kids more than ourselves sometimes. If the moles have been cut off and then excised, they have done testing on them, that is how they determine that they are atypical nevi (spitzoid) and not actual melanoma, so they do know the make up of the tissue removed. On the lymph node, there are many reasons that lymph nodes become enlarged including various kinds of infections, inflamation etc. and if it swelled up then the swelling went down on its own, that is good sign that it is nothing to worry about.
All this being said, if you are uncomfortable with the diagnosis and treatment by your current dermatologist, and you are worried, there is no reason why you shouldn’t seek a second opinion from another derm who works with melanoma patients. There are many much more literate and experienced peeps on this site than me, I suspect someone else will chime in and give you some advice more complete and better than mine.
Blessings and peace to you,
Ted

Wow Tim, what a great journal of your experience. Glad you are on the backside and hoping that you can get some positive results when you have your scans!
Ted

Hey Tim, been following your challenging saga without commenting but wanted to chime in and wish you well with this very difficult but hopeful process!

Ted

 

Good morning Erika;

I read your note and it sounds like it has been tough but you have done a great job keeping on keepin on. This is a tough journey with a loving partner and supportive network, can’t imagine how it would be without that, so big props to you on navigating. I wanted to reach out and point you to a great FB (if you are on FB) group. It is only for stage IV melanoma people and caregivers and has a lot of people going through this journey whom are supportive, knowledgeable and caring.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/just4melanoma4s/?multi_permalinks=4117784301610615

I copy and pasted the link. It is a private group, so Ashley the admin may take a few days to respond when you request admittance.

Blessings and good vibes to you,

Ted

 

Hey all, I guess this one hits close to home. When it comes to stage IV melanoma, I was one of the really lucky ones. I was stage IV with just one metastatic tumor and an unknown primary. To date all scans have shown my organs to be clear and have been NED for over three years. That being said, post diagnosis and treatment have been extremely difficult for me. I sailed through treatment with NIVO (until colitis stopped that) working the whole time and never taking much time off. But post treatment not so good. All kinds of phantom side effects from minor ones (dry mouth and eyes) to serious ones (joints, stomach issues, chronic pain and increased anxiety levels) my life is just not what it was and I miss that. And I think the mourning/missing that former life make it worse.

I stay on this forum and a few others to read and talk to others who have been there, as no one else can seem to relate. Those of you who know my story (first wife had breast cancer, then died of scleroderma and second wife and I both had cancer at the same time in 2018) also know that the last 10 years have been pretty rough. But reading Celeste’s blog and reaching out with questions and giving support to others sure helps. Also, as Les says, having a support system with friends and loved ones who step up and step in makes a huge difference. If you don’t have a support system, talk to your treatment center they might be able to help out, thinking praying and standing by to support all of you as you have supported me the last few years.

Ted

 

Patrick;

Glad you talked to the doctor. Charlie gave good advice. Most people on this forum who have been here for a long time have experienced the anxiety of having to “wait”. But the advice I am sure all of us will also give is to take it as it comes, don’t over think and let the anxiety of the situation take over your life. You don’t know that this pigment is anything until it is something. So, live your life until you get more answers to the best you can. Then come back and tell us how your appointment went!

Blessings and good wishes for a big non-cancerous answer!

Ted