tracey25

My story is almost identical to yours.  I had a swollen lymph node in my groin that was suspicious and we eventually made the decision to excise it in September 2016.  PET scan was clear.  I consulted with Vanderbilt and my local doctors and the advice was that surgery is still the most sure treatment of melanoma.  After much research and discussion, I had a lymph node dissection about 6 weeks later, but only the lymph nodes in that area.  In my case, there were 6 lymph nodes removed and all were negative.  In my mind, if it was in the lymph nodes, I just reduced the risk of further spreading, and if they were clear, then I had some good news.  I was very lucky in that my initial surgeon referred me to a robotic surgeon so the incision is minimal.  I highly recommend you consult with either a robotic surgeon or laproscopic surgeon to avoid the long incision and trauma of traditional surgery.  Even so, it will slow you down to a crawl for a few weeks, but still very manageable.  Let me know if you have any questions. 

Best of luck!!

My story is almost identical to yours.  I had a swollen lymph node in my groin that was suspicious and we eventually made the decision to excise it in September 2016.  PET scan was clear.  I consulted with Vanderbilt and my local doctors and the advice was that surgery is still the most sure treatment of melanoma.  After much research and discussion, I had a lymph node dissection about 6 weeks later, but only the lymph nodes in that area.  In my case, there were 6 lymph nodes removed and all were negative.  In my mind, if it was in the lymph nodes, I just reduced the risk of further spreading, and if they were clear, then I had some good news.  I was very lucky in that my initial surgeon referred me to a robotic surgeon so the incision is minimal.  I highly recommend you consult with either a robotic surgeon or laproscopic surgeon to avoid the long incision and trauma of traditional surgery.  Even so, it will slow you down to a crawl for a few weeks, but still very manageable.  Let me know if you have any questions. 

Best of luck!!

My story is almost identical to yours.  I had a swollen lymph node in my groin that was suspicious and we eventually made the decision to excise it in September 2016.  PET scan was clear.  I consulted with Vanderbilt and my local doctors and the advice was that surgery is still the most sure treatment of melanoma.  After much research and discussion, I had a lymph node dissection about 6 weeks later, but only the lymph nodes in that area.  In my case, there were 6 lymph nodes removed and all were negative.  In my mind, if it was in the lymph nodes, I just reduced the risk of further spreading, and if they were clear, then I had some good news.  I was very lucky in that my initial surgeon referred me to a robotic surgeon so the incision is minimal.  I highly recommend you consult with either a robotic surgeon or laproscopic surgeon to avoid the long incision and trauma of traditional surgery.  Even so, it will slow you down to a crawl for a few weeks, but still very manageable.  Let me know if you have any questions. 

Best of luck!!