Anyone?

[BoeingDiesel]

Anyone have any experience with Melanoma skin cancer? My wife had three biopsies last week and they called her back this morning. The dermatologist said 2 out of the three were non cancerous but the other was a Melanoma and that she was referring my wife to a general surgeon and it would take 4-6 weeks to get her surgery. I've heard a couple terrible accounts of Melanoma and I was kind of freaked out and I immediately turned on the sheepdog mode and told her that we will attack this head on. The doctor gave her some details about the width and depth but all she remembers is the doc' saying something about .625. Is that MM, inches? I don't know. I've got to suppress my emotions and just be strong for her but that is much easier said than done with my makeup.Of course, I did some reading on a research website and didn't come away from that with a positive outlook as the spot is on her upper arm and there is a lymph node in the armpit. I'm rambling on now...just wondering if anybody on the TDR had any similar situations.
thanks...gregg

 

[Wiredawg]

My BIL had melanoma on his ear... they treated it, great results... he wears a hat outside now.

Wish your wife the best in successful and speedy recovery.

Ron

 

[Tractorat]

Friend of mine had one on his cheek a couple of years ago. He wore a patch over the hole for quite a while, but he is doing fine.

 

[DHayden]

My dad had it on his nose and ear, removed and recovered fine (a few divits but acceptable for the outcome)

 

[Cooper_D]

I had one removed where I used to part my hair.

The plastic surgeon removed it, got all of it, but did not leave a space large enough around where it was so had to go back to have more removed. Yes it was not fun but better to be safe than sorry.

I strongly suggest she see a plastic surgeon instead of a general surgeon, they do a better job of covering the wound over so it is less noticeable.

I’ve had over a dozen things, only one was melanoma, removed by this doctor and will cry when he retires he actually attended Woodstock! Great man & doctor!

They called mine melanoma in situ (stage 0) so ask what stage hers is in.

I’ll add her to my prayer list and you as well.

 

[kthaxton]

I really depends on what stage it is. I had basically a stage 0 on my neck the size of a pencil erasure. The removed it, but the chunk they took out was about 1.25" in diameter! My neck was tight for a while after they stitched that up.

Being caught at stage 0 as it was, it was basically a non-issue with successful removal. I have a nice scar now, I tell people I was stabbed in the neck in a bar fight.

On a side note.....coincidently, a couple months after I had it removed, I read an article that Utah (where I live) is #1 in country for Melanoma, and Summit County (where I work and ride my mountain bike 2-4 times a week) is the #1 spot in Utah. Surprise!

 

[BoeingDiesel]

Thanks guys for your response.
Question; would the pathology lab have given her doctor the stage of the tumor? If so, I can only guess that my dear wife is withholding information from me. given that I am the proactive type and to worrying I guess I can understand. The thing that I don't get is delaying her surgery for 4-6 weeks, and, she did tell me last night that they want her to do a full scan 90 days after the surgery. I read that melanoma is likely to metastasize if not treated quickly.

 

[BigPapa]

Gregg, I really have nothing to add except to let you know that I'm praying for you and your wife. I have known people that have had successful surgeries and treatments like the responses you've received here.

 

[Cooper_D]

I had to have a Squamous cell carcinoma cut off of my cheek and my doctor did that one in a surgical center so that they could walk it across the hall so that the lab could analyze it to be sure that he had cut all of the bad stuff out.

Because of it so close to my eye he had to do a skin graft (cutting skin from behind my ear and attach it to my face). This was necessary because if he had not grafted it, the skin where the scar was would have pulled my right lower eyelid down just a little bit causing my eye to get dry.

I have found that going to a plastic surgeon he can get me in sooner than the general surgeon can. Just make sure that you go to a doctor that has a good reputation!!

What city and state are you near? Maybe someone on here can give some info on the doctors in your area.

15-20 years ago my gp cut something off of my neck and just left a hole, after that I started to go to the plastic surgeon.

You can look at my face and not see any scars, but when he cut the one off of my nose the needle to numb it hurt soooo bad. I couldn’t believe how bad it hurt.

The ones cut off my arms were easy.

I hope this helped waylay some of your fears.

 

[Cooper_D]

The doctors and hospitals around southwest Ohio have my information in their system, which I can access online, it includes tests, lab results, doctors notes after visits so check to see if you have that as well.

I also take before and after photos of my “problems”

 

[BoeingDiesel]

Thanks all for the feedback... I really appreciate your thoughts and well wishes.
Guess I could go through HR and and get the info if there is anything more to be known. We do have an excellent insurance group but I'm not settling for one opinion and done. There is a high profile dermatologist here in southern cal' and I'm going to make an appt. for my wife for a second opinion. It won't be covered by the insurance but my wife is worth far more than what it could ever cost me. I'm planning on letting her know tomorrow evening when we're dining out at her favorite place. I'll need to score some points for circumventing her doctor but I'm sure she'll take it in the manner given.
thanks...gregg

 

[BSeyler]

You sure want to have as much information as possible when making your decision.

 

[Ozymandias]

Get a second opinion if you are worried about the 4-6 weeks, but they wouldn't let her wait that long if it isn't safe to do so.
Skin Cancer, properly treated, is really no big deal anymore.
My dad had it, my FIL had it, all good.

 

[Ozymandias]

Oh, and the internet is the worst doctor ever - not matter what you put into the search bar - you'll always die in the end. I stopped mostly to use the internet for medical research, to much b....t out there.

 

[BoeingDiesel]

^^^ Right!

 

[Jim W]

Gregg, sorry for your diagnosis and hope you find out soon how sever it is. If caught early this should be treatable and recovery should be fast. But you will need to take precaution to prevent further UV rays from damaging your skin.

Since I was a life guard in my younger days and sat in the sunlight all day long. My dear wife makes ( I agree also) go to a dermatologist once a year for a check up, so far so good in my case.

I think everyone as we age should be visiting our doctors at least once a year. In my case I see three different ones each year for my needs.

 

[BoeingDiesel]

My wife was raised in Denver which is probably 30% higher in UV exposure than down here, and, she's fair complexion. Me, being raised in socal' started going to the beach when I was ten and I don't recall ever hearing about sunscreen lotion at the time. We did use the white paste (zinc oxide?) on the nose and ears but that was it. Needless to say, after years of surf and sand and har, I'm probably at risk. My wife is very diligent in regular checkups...me, not so much. Probably should that behavior. We'll see how the 2nd opinion idea goes over at dinner tonight.
Thanks to all for your kind thoughts.

 

[Blu-meanie]

I'm a commifornia boy, spent hours in the sun every year. I have had around ten+ of the two most common cancers removed. On me they leave an itchy bump that goes away after a few years or a thin scar. My recent doctor doesn't bother with the sample then another appointment. He said he is almost always right and just removes them on the first visit. One recent visit I had seven, the result was only 1 non cancer. My wife, a blond, had some kind on her face, went to a special guy that cut it out, looked at the edges under a microscope, cut some more and looked until it was all clear. Hard to see where they were removed. Good luck, hopefully nothing to worry about.

 

[BigPapa]

It’s called Mohs surgery. My father-in-law has about one a month. He has squamous cell cancers.

https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/skin-cancer/types/common/melanoma/mohs-surgery

 

[Blu-meanie]

It’s called Mohs surgery. My father-in-law has about one a month. He has squamous cell cancers.

https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/skin-cancer/types/common/melanoma/mohs-surgery

That's it. I didn't want to look up diseases or ask my wife....old guys are like that.