Scared need help

Do you have a melanoma specialist? If not find one…They should be doing scans on you to make sure it hasn't spread anywhere else in your body..I am stage 3 C and have had Interferon (which i failed) and just finished Yervoy, will be rescanned on the 23rd..Good luck!

Do you have a melanoma specialist? If not find one…They should be doing scans on you to make sure it hasn't spread anywhere else in your body..I am stage 3 C and have had Interferon (which i failed) and just finished Yervoy, will be rescanned on the 23rd..Good luck!

Do you have a melanoma specialist? If not find one…They should be doing scans on you to make sure it hasn't spread anywhere else in your body..I am stage 3 C and have had Interferon (which i failed) and just finished Yervoy, will be rescanned on the 23rd..Good luck!

Hi, sorry you had to join the club. I am also 3a.  Micro mets in the sentinel node only.  There are not many treatments approved for stage 3a.  Interferon is one but doesn't seem to have much benefit for 90% of the people who take it.  But it does work for some.  If you are at a Melanoma Center of Excellence, they may offer you some type of a clinical trial. There are 1 or 2 out there for 3a. If you aren't at a Melanoma Center of Excellence, then it would be good to go to one.  There are many more treatments and drugs in clinical trials now than ever before that have good results for people with melanoma.  But normally you have to be at a higher stage to get them and usually have to go to one of those Centers for Excellence to get into a clinical trial. The survival stats are probably higher and not accurate at this time because of all the new drugs so don't google that because it is frightening.  If you google Melanoma Centers for Excellence, a list will come up so you can see where the closest one is to you.  If you do a profile so others can see where you live, they would have a lot of good advice for you about good hospitals and doctors closest to you.  So it would be good to fill it out if you would.  There are many experts on here.  You have some time to do your research and make your decision, so take a deep breath. All is not lost.  Best wishes to you.

Hi, sorry you had to join the club. I am also 3a.  Micro mets in the sentinel node only.  There are not many treatments approved for stage 3a.  Interferon is one but doesn't seem to have much benefit for 90% of the people who take it.  But it does work for some.  If you are at a Melanoma Center of Excellence, they may offer you some type of a clinical trial. There are 1 or 2 out there for 3a. If you aren't at a Melanoma Center of Excellence, then it would be good to go to one.  There are many more treatments and drugs in clinical trials now than ever before that have good results for people with melanoma.  But normally you have to be at a higher stage to get them and usually have to go to one of those Centers for Excellence to get into a clinical trial. The survival stats are probably higher and not accurate at this time because of all the new drugs so don't google that because it is frightening.  If you google Melanoma Centers for Excellence, a list will come up so you can see where the closest one is to you.  If you do a profile so others can see where you live, they would have a lot of good advice for you about good hospitals and doctors closest to you.  So it would be good to fill it out if you would.  There are many experts on here.  You have some time to do your research and make your decision, so take a deep breath. All is not lost.  Best wishes to you.

Hi, sorry you had to join the club. I am also 3a.  Micro mets in the sentinel node only.  There are not many treatments approved for stage 3a.  Interferon is one but doesn't seem to have much benefit for 90% of the people who take it.  But it does work for some.  If you are at a Melanoma Center of Excellence, they may offer you some type of a clinical trial. There are 1 or 2 out there for 3a. If you aren't at a Melanoma Center of Excellence, then it would be good to go to one.  There are many more treatments and drugs in clinical trials now than ever before that have good results for people with melanoma.  But normally you have to be at a higher stage to get them and usually have to go to one of those Centers for Excellence to get into a clinical trial. The survival stats are probably higher and not accurate at this time because of all the new drugs so don't google that because it is frightening.  If you google Melanoma Centers for Excellence, a list will come up so you can see where the closest one is to you.  If you do a profile so others can see where you live, they would have a lot of good advice for you about good hospitals and doctors closest to you.  So it would be good to fill it out if you would.  There are many experts on here.  You have some time to do your research and make your decision, so take a deep breath. All is not lost.  Best wishes to you.

Sorry to hear you've joined "the club".

First off, the fact that your lymph nodes were clear is a very good thing. Staying away from google is also a very good thing.

Once you do feel brave enough to start googling, the thing to keep in the back of mind is that many of the statistics are old. Many were based on data gathered in the 90's through the early 2000's. But just within the past 4-5 years there have been some real game-changers in treatment so future statistics will reveal much better outcomes.

You've been given some very good advice about making sure you're seen at a center of excellence for melanoma. The melanoma specialists at these places will be the most up to date on treatments and clinical trials.

Unfortunately the options for Stage III are few. This is because many do well at that stage. Believe it or not, surgery alone plus reguarly scheduled scans is a viable option. Interferon is another. Unfortunately, interferon doesn't offer a huge benefit over just surgery and scans, and it has some pretty nasty side effects. The third option would be a clinical trial. And, there is one for Stage IIIa that I know of. I think it's called COMBI-AD and your melanoma needs to have a certain mutation in order for you to qualify. There are upsides and downsides to clinical trials: the upside it that you have the opportunity to try out a new promising drug. The downside is that there usually is a placebo involved so you're not guaranteed to get the drug. The main upside, though, is that doctors keep a close eye on you, and I mean CLOSE, which is a very good thing.

Another thing to keep in the back of your mind is that it never hurts to get a second opinion.

Also, bring someone with you to your appointment who can take notes for you.

Sorry to hear you've joined "the club".

First off, the fact that your lymph nodes were clear is a very good thing. Staying away from google is also a very good thing.

Once you do feel brave enough to start googling, the thing to keep in the back of mind is that many of the statistics are old. Many were based on data gathered in the 90's through the early 2000's. But just within the past 4-5 years there have been some real game-changers in treatment so future statistics will reveal much better outcomes.

You've been given some very good advice about making sure you're seen at a center of excellence for melanoma. The melanoma specialists at these places will be the most up to date on treatments and clinical trials.

Unfortunately the options for Stage III are few. This is because many do well at that stage. Believe it or not, surgery alone plus reguarly scheduled scans is a viable option. Interferon is another. Unfortunately, interferon doesn't offer a huge benefit over just surgery and scans, and it has some pretty nasty side effects. The third option would be a clinical trial. And, there is one for Stage IIIa that I know of. I think it's called COMBI-AD and your melanoma needs to have a certain mutation in order for you to qualify. There are upsides and downsides to clinical trials: the upside it that you have the opportunity to try out a new promising drug. The downside is that there usually is a placebo involved so you're not guaranteed to get the drug. The main upside, though, is that doctors keep a close eye on you, and I mean CLOSE, which is a very good thing.

Another thing to keep in the back of your mind is that it never hurts to get a second opinion.

Also, bring someone with you to your appointment who can take notes for you.

Sorry to hear you've joined "the club".

First off, the fact that your lymph nodes were clear is a very good thing. Staying away from google is also a very good thing.

Once you do feel brave enough to start googling, the thing to keep in the back of mind is that many of the statistics are old. Many were based on data gathered in the 90's through the early 2000's. But just within the past 4-5 years there have been some real game-changers in treatment so future statistics will reveal much better outcomes.

You've been given some very good advice about making sure you're seen at a center of excellence for melanoma. The melanoma specialists at these places will be the most up to date on treatments and clinical trials.

Unfortunately the options for Stage III are few. This is because many do well at that stage. Believe it or not, surgery alone plus reguarly scheduled scans is a viable option. Interferon is another. Unfortunately, interferon doesn't offer a huge benefit over just surgery and scans, and it has some pretty nasty side effects. The third option would be a clinical trial. And, there is one for Stage IIIa that I know of. I think it's called COMBI-AD and your melanoma needs to have a certain mutation in order for you to qualify. There are upsides and downsides to clinical trials: the upside it that you have the opportunity to try out a new promising drug. The downside is that there usually is a placebo involved so you're not guaranteed to get the drug. The main upside, though, is that doctors keep a close eye on you, and I mean CLOSE, which is a very good thing.

Another thing to keep in the back of your mind is that it never hurts to get a second opinion.

Also, bring someone with you to your appointment who can take notes for you.

I am in a similar situation to you.

I did a lot of research and spent a lot of time googling and reading reports research papers etc.

Bottom line after hundreds of hours of research I realised that most of the treatments offered are not worth taking because of their toxicity. Too many side effects and very poor response rates so better to wait if you are fit and healthy because there may be a time when you have no choice but to roll the dice with these therapies. So wait and see is a very vialbe option. Quality of life should be paramount in any decision making process in my opinion.

What to do in the meantime?

In my opinion you should try and get as fit and healthy as possible which means looking at diet, lifestyle , supplements, stress reducing and immune boosting. Take the opportunity while you are healthy to get more healthy.

I am in a similar situation to you.

I did a lot of research and spent a lot of time googling and reading reports research papers etc.

Bottom line after hundreds of hours of research I realised that most of the treatments offered are not worth taking because of their toxicity. Too many side effects and very poor response rates so better to wait if you are fit and healthy because there may be a time when you have no choice but to roll the dice with these therapies. So wait and see is a very vialbe option. Quality of life should be paramount in any decision making process in my opinion.

What to do in the meantime?

In my opinion you should try and get as fit and healthy as possible which means looking at diet, lifestyle , supplements, stress reducing and immune boosting. Take the opportunity while you are healthy to get more healthy.

I am in a similar situation to you.

I did a lot of research and spent a lot of time googling and reading reports research papers etc.

Bottom line after hundreds of hours of research I realised that most of the treatments offered are not worth taking because of their toxicity. Too many side effects and very poor response rates so better to wait if you are fit and healthy because there may be a time when you have no choice but to roll the dice with these therapies. So wait and see is a very vialbe option. Quality of life should be paramount in any decision making process in my opinion.

What to do in the meantime?

In my opinion you should try and get as fit and healthy as possible which means looking at diet, lifestyle , supplements, stress reducing and immune boosting. Take the opportunity while you are healthy to get more healthy.