worried daughter

So here's the update…thusfar. My dad has a superficial malignant spindle cell carcinoma invasive to Level IV. He's scheduled for a WLE Aug 24th & they'll do a SNB then, too. I was told this is a spreading type of cancer so now my question is, Should the surgery date be moved up??? They said that after the SNB and WLE they will send the biopsy to the Mayo Clinic. If need be the case they will schedule a full body PET Scan depending on the results, and he will then have to meet with Oncology. Please tell me your thoughts on all this,

Thank you all again for all your help, knowledge & experience.

WD

So here's the update…thusfar. My dad has a superficial malignant spindle cell carcinoma invasive to Level IV. He's scheduled for a WLE Aug 24th & they'll do a SNB then, too. I was told this is a spreading type of cancer so now my question is, Should the surgery date be moved up??? They said that after the SNB and WLE they will send the biopsy to the Mayo Clinic. If need be the case they will schedule a full body PET Scan depending on the results, and he will then have to meet with Oncology. Please tell me your thoughts on all this,

Thank you all again for all your help, knowledge & experience.

WD

Hello All,

I have the Pathology Report: Malignant melanoma, spindle cell superficial spreading type, invasive to level IV, and measured thickness of o.55mm, present @ lateral margin. The Ki-67 stain shows limited but definate positivity of the dermal component. The lesion has no mitoses per mm2. There is a non-brisk host response. There is no evidence of regression or microsatellites. The lesion is present at the lateral margin. A reexision with a 1 to 1.5cm margin is recommended.

Okay, with this new info, what do you think of his status/condition?

Thank you,

Worried Daughter

Hello All,

I have the Pathology Report: Malignant melanoma, spindle cell superficial spreading type, invasive to level IV, and measured thickness of o.55mm, present @ lateral margin. The Ki-67 stain shows limited but definate positivity of the dermal component. The lesion has no mitoses per mm2. There is a non-brisk host response. There is no evidence of regression or microsatellites. The lesion is present at the lateral margin. A reexision with a 1 to 1.5cm margin is recommended.

Okay, with this new info, what do you think of his status/condition?

Thank you,

Worried Daughter

WOW! You guys/gals are AWESOME! I've received so many great suggestions and all I did was post my concerns on this forum…Which less than 12 hours ago was unknown to me. Please know how much it means to me to know there's support out there and knowledgeable people to help myself & my family through this no matter what the Pathology Report reveals. I've read some of your stories too & I know I'm in great hands here!

Hugs to all of you!

WD

WOW! You guys/gals are AWESOME! I've received so many great suggestions and all I did was post my concerns on this forum…Which less than 12 hours ago was unknown to me. Please know how much it means to me to know there's support out there and knowledgeable people to help myself & my family through this no matter what the Pathology Report reveals. I've read some of your stories too & I know I'm in great hands here!

Hugs to all of you!

WD

Hi Jerry,

Dr is one of the top Gen'l Vascular & Minimally Invasive Surgeon in my mom's area. My dad can't come off his Aggranox for surgical procedures, don't ask (can't even be changed to a short acting med ), so this Dr was one of a very few that was tops in his field and would operate under these conditions. I wil take your advice & have her go to a melanoma specialist once the primary tumor is removed and the pathology report is obtained. I have a call into the Dr's office now & hope to receive a call back this afternoon. I'm still hoping it's as simple as my mom misunderstood & heard Clark Level IV rather than Stage IV.

Thank you for your help.

WD

Hi Jerry,

Dr is one of the top Gen'l Vascular & Minimally Invasive Surgeon in my mom's area. My dad can't come off his Aggranox for surgical procedures, don't ask (can't even be changed to a short acting med ), so this Dr was one of a very few that was tops in his field and would operate under these conditions. I wil take your advice & have her go to a melanoma specialist once the primary tumor is removed and the pathology report is obtained. I have a call into the Dr's office now & hope to receive a call back this afternoon. I'm still hoping it's as simple as my mom misunderstood & heard Clark Level IV rather than Stage IV.

Thank you for your help.

WD

Thank you Janner. You've helped me to be armed & dangerous when I speak to the Dr tomorrow!

Thank you Janner. You've helped me to be armed & dangerous when I speak to the Dr tomorrow!

Hi Julie,

Thank you for your reply. My mom went to the Dr w/him today, and let me add that she is sharp as a tack, and she told me the Dr said, "he has Stage IV melanoma on his thigh and we'll need to operate on it ASAP. 2 weeks from today is the soonest I can book an OR." My mom then told me that he must've seen her heart skip a beat and he then said to her, "Don't worry, he'll live another 35 years." That's what upset me so much because if it is Stage IV melanoma then he's shielding her from the truth & giving her false hope for my dad. I can only hope that my mother heard him incorrectly when she heard Stage IV. Thank God I'm a nurse & she put me on the approved list for info. I will be calling the Dr in the morning. For now, I'm just questioning whether he would even know the stage from a biopsy. I never knew that to be true. He originally went to the Dr for MOHS procedure on 3 areas on his lower leg when the Dr pointed out the area on his thigh that he was more interested in biopsying.

Hopefully I'll know more tomorrow, but until then I'm powerless.

Thanks Again,

WD

Hi Julie,

Thank you for your reply. My mom went to the Dr w/him today, and let me add that she is sharp as a tack, and she told me the Dr said, "he has Stage IV melanoma on his thigh and we'll need to operate on it ASAP. 2 weeks from today is the soonest I can book an OR." My mom then told me that he must've seen her heart skip a beat and he then said to her, "Don't worry, he'll live another 35 years." That's what upset me so much because if it is Stage IV melanoma then he's shielding her from the truth & giving her false hope for my dad. I can only hope that my mother heard him incorrectly when she heard Stage IV. Thank God I'm a nurse & she put me on the approved list for info. I will be calling the Dr in the morning. For now, I'm just questioning whether he would even know the stage from a biopsy. I never knew that to be true. He originally went to the Dr for MOHS procedure on 3 areas on his lower leg when the Dr pointed out the area on his thigh that he was more interested in biopsying.

Hopefully I'll know more tomorrow, but until then I'm powerless.

Thanks Again,

WD