Sirona, did you have a Sentinel Node Biopsy in addition to the Wide Local Excision? Any adjuvant treatments? Did you go to a melanoma specialist? Are you satisfied that you got the best you could get?
Francois
Cancer Sniffers
by cellomould 14 Replies latest jw friends
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Sirona
Francios,
Yes, I had a sentinel node biopsy. It was clear. I had more skin removed after they found more cancer cells in the area of the melanoma, but now the skin itself is clear. No other treatments. I did see a melanoma specialist, I've been happy with treatments.
I've been being seen quite a lot recently because one of my glands in my neck swelled for no reason. It has gone down a lot now, and its been found that I have an infected wisdom tooth which could be causing the gland swelling. I'm still seeing the skin specialist for checks....next appointment September.
Its so difficult with melanoma. Over the past couple of days my underarm has been twinging - just where the scar is from the sentinel node biopsy. There are no lumps. It still really worries me if I get any sort of pain now in my glands. I'm going to leave it and see if it continues to give me discomfort, if so I will make another appointment. Maybe its my scar tissue healing up. Plus, I've got a cold right now, and my glands might be just a bit sore because of that. The area on my arm (the tumour was on my forearm) where the scar is is really sore.
I hate living in fear of the cancer returning. I'm buying a house at the moment and they've refused me life cover and critical illness cover. So theres the added worry that if it came back I wouldn't be able to pay my bills. Nevertheless, I'm buying the house because I've got the all clear so far - I'm just having checks every 3 months, so I refuse to put my life on hold waiting for it to return (or not).
Tell me about your experience,
Sirona
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unclebruce
great post cellomould,
francoice and sirona, i too am glad you're doing well (i've just had a discussion with an old scotsman who is making an almost miraculous recovery from lung cancer .. he looked wonderfull compared to just 3 weeks ago)
We have a long way to go in understanding the remarkable talents of animals. Some animals read changes in our electrical and chemical field, others can hear a pin drop 500metres away, others have binocular vision and amazing sence of smell. My old cat even had the ability too see ghosts... apparently lol.
whenever you're in trouble or feel threatened its good to have an animal nearby .. and even wild animals feel the same way (i've lost count of the times wild animals have come to share a campfire (ala the praire scene in "the three amigos")
A few months ago i was standing on the old wharf watching a humpback whale a mile away across the bay through binoculars. Then she noticed me and dived. a few minutes later she breached up just a few feet off the wharf and had a good look at me. a few slow bends of her tail and she was back out to sea.
to think I went bush to escape the gaze of neighbours only to have it replaced by a constant stream of birds, animals and reptiles intriged by my strange behaviour. couldn't even spy on a whale. (we really are just monkeys with an opposable thumb and higher opinion of ourselves than we warrant ya know)
unclebruce
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cellomould
Wow, the odds of developing melanoma are outrageous! It is great to hear that you have been fortunate enough to enjoy your lives, Frank and Sirona.
Thanks for the stories, unclebruce. But I must take offense...I am an ape, not a monkey!
cellmould
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Jewel
I developed a tiny, tiny little black spot on my cheek about 6 mo or so ago. It worried me a bit, but I pushed it out of my mind. Then, we bought some episodes of Monty Python on tape and were watching them with the kids. There was a animated bit where it had something about a person noticing a "spot on his cheek" but ignoring it and being dead two years later. Had my check-up a couple of weeks ago and mentioned the spot (feeling silly) to my doctor. He was SUPPOSED to say, "That tiny thing, nothing to worry about!" Instead he looked at it, put on magnifying glasses and looked at it again and then suggested I stick around for ten minutes and they would take it off right away.
They removed and biopsied it and the biopsy came back fine. But it was a scare and I was glad that my kids watched that Monty Python bit about twenty times because every time I heard it I got a little more nervous...