Had a great visit at Johns Hopkins this past Tuesday. My scans were clean and I'm still hanging out with NED. Next scan will be some time in August/September.
But I have to admit that I was getting freaked out by some minor lower back pain on my right side. I knew there were other things it could be besides melanoma, but even knowing that didn't do much to alleviate the "scanxiety". When Dr. Scharfmann broke the news about the clean scans I all but started dancing with him in the exam room.
Had a great visit at Johns Hopkins this past Tuesday. My scans were clean and I'm still hanging out with NED. Next scan will be some time in August/September.
But I have to admit that I was getting freaked out by some minor lower back pain on my right side. I knew there were other things it could be besides melanoma, but even knowing that didn't do much to alleviate the "scanxiety". When Dr. Scharfmann broke the news about the clean scans I all but started dancing with him in the exam room.
I'm not sure what my official NED date is, though. Melanoma was discovered in a lymph node back in November 2010 (I had an unknown primary). The subsequent scan in December 2010 done at a local hospital was clean. When I had my full lymphadenectomy done at Hopkins in January 2011, no further evidence of disease was found in the lymph nodes. At any rate, I've had no evidence of disease for over a year. Maybe I can just have two celebration days? 😉
If you're newly diagnosed, freaked out, and lurking right now, please know that things do get better with time.
I had no idea how significant clean scans were until I found this site. The dermatologist who examined me at Hopkins completely downplayed them so when I left his office I was a complete wreck. He may be a good diagnostician and instructor but his bedside manner sucked, plain and simple. Fortunately I don't have to deal with him on a frequent basis. If you're seeing a bunch of doctors, there's always one who falls into the "jerk" category. Don't let them get you down. If I didn't have this site as a resource, my emotional recovery would have taken months instead of weeks.
Linda
Stage III, unknown primary
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