newly diagnosed

hi

I agree with your husband about moving on and living.

I spent the past 2 winters in the south bringing my niece to Moffitt Cancer Research hospital in Tampa.

They were amazing there and they are doing advanced research with access to all of the clinical trials for all types of cancer.

I would feel completely comfortable in that area of the south. I am not sure about other areas.

I am glad to hear your good news about the scans ! Thats wonderful !

March onward !

peace to you and many blessings.

Shane

hi

I agree with your husband about moving on and living.

I spent the past 2 winters in the south bringing my niece to Moffitt Cancer Research hospital in Tampa.

They were amazing there and they are doing advanced research with access to all of the clinical trials for all types of cancer.

I would feel completely comfortable in that area of the south. I am not sure about other areas.

I am glad to hear your good news about the scans ! Thats wonderful !

March onward !

peace to you and many blessings.

Shane

hi

I agree with your husband about moving on and living.

I spent the past 2 winters in the south bringing my niece to Moffitt Cancer Research hospital in Tampa.

They were amazing there and they are doing advanced research with access to all of the clinical trials for all types of cancer.

I would feel completely comfortable in that area of the south. I am not sure about other areas.

I am glad to hear your good news about the scans ! Thats wonderful !

March onward !

peace to you and many blessings.

Shane

Hi Kathy,

Sorry you have to go through this.  My husband was diagnosed in February with a 19 mm melanoma on his shoulder/back.  Had the WLE and SNLB and scans all came back negative.  We are in the wait and see and it's difficult.  But I think the decision for healthcare isn't necessarily about geography.  We happened to move from Michigan to Houston last year so we were grateful to be right by MD Anderson which is top notch in melanoma and all cancer research.  And remember, you can always travel to a great facility.  Also, the south deals with a great deal of melanoma (much like Australia is right now) due to sun exposure.  I think good health care depends on getting to a specialist wherever you are and having a good dermatologist to scan you regularly.  Also, I'm guessing your follow-up includes scans every 3 months for the next two years so they will be on top of your condition.

Good luck!

Hi Kathy,

Sorry you have to go through this.  My husband was diagnosed in February with a 19 mm melanoma on his shoulder/back.  Had the WLE and SNLB and scans all came back negative.  We are in the wait and see and it's difficult.  But I think the decision for healthcare isn't necessarily about geography.  We happened to move from Michigan to Houston last year so we were grateful to be right by MD Anderson which is top notch in melanoma and all cancer research.  And remember, you can always travel to a great facility.  Also, the south deals with a great deal of melanoma (much like Australia is right now) due to sun exposure.  I think good health care depends on getting to a specialist wherever you are and having a good dermatologist to scan you regularly.  Also, I'm guessing your follow-up includes scans every 3 months for the next two years so they will be on top of your condition.

Good luck!

Hi Kathy,

Sorry you have to go through this.  My husband was diagnosed in February with a 19 mm melanoma on his shoulder/back.  Had the WLE and SNLB and scans all came back negative.  We are in the wait and see and it's difficult.  But I think the decision for healthcare isn't necessarily about geography.  We happened to move from Michigan to Houston last year so we were grateful to be right by MD Anderson which is top notch in melanoma and all cancer research.  And remember, you can always travel to a great facility.  Also, the south deals with a great deal of melanoma (much like Australia is right now) due to sun exposure.  I think good health care depends on getting to a specialist wherever you are and having a good dermatologist to scan you regularly.  Also, I'm guessing your follow-up includes scans every 3 months for the next two years so they will be on top of your condition.

Good luck!

Hi Kathy, my husband was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma in April. He had a large resection done on his back, sentinal nodes in both armpits came back positive. PET scan showed activity in both armpits so he had a bilateral axillary lymph node dissection two weeks ago. As of right now, all biopsy results have come back negative for melanoma in all the nodes they took!!!  My point is this…He retired from New York state government in January and moved here to Tennessee. We are quite close to Nasville and have been going to the Sarah Cannon Cancer Center. Vanderbilt Hospital is also in Nasville with a great cancer center. Don't hesitate to move south! 

Good luck to you!!

Hi Kathy, my husband was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma in April. He had a large resection done on his back, sentinal nodes in both armpits came back positive. PET scan showed activity in both armpits so he had a bilateral axillary lymph node dissection two weeks ago. As of right now, all biopsy results have come back negative for melanoma in all the nodes they took!!!  My point is this…He retired from New York state government in January and moved here to Tennessee. We are quite close to Nasville and have been going to the Sarah Cannon Cancer Center. Vanderbilt Hospital is also in Nasville with a great cancer center. Don't hesitate to move south! 

Good luck to you!!

Hi Kathy, my husband was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma in April. He had a large resection done on his back, sentinal nodes in both armpits came back positive. PET scan showed activity in both armpits so he had a bilateral axillary lymph node dissection two weeks ago. As of right now, all biopsy results have come back negative for melanoma in all the nodes they took!!!  My point is this…He retired from New York state government in January and moved here to Tennessee. We are quite close to Nasville and have been going to the Sarah Cannon Cancer Center. Vanderbilt Hospital is also in Nasville with a great cancer center. Don't hesitate to move south! 

Good luck to you!!

Kathy:

A depth of 4.2 mm is fairly deep. Do you know if it was ulcerated or not? That has an impact on how to follow you in the future.

Regarding treatment centers, with the advent of new and better drugs for treating metastatic melanoma, more doctors are working in the space. Even without that, you can find good melanoma centers scattered throughout the country. Jeff Sosman at Vanderbilt is a leader in the field. The team at Moffitt in Tampa are very good and have several thought leaders. Emory has a good program, as does UNC. A number of options–none of which, hopefully–you will ever need!

Tim–MRF

Kathy:

A depth of 4.2 mm is fairly deep. Do you know if it was ulcerated or not? That has an impact on how to follow you in the future.

Regarding treatment centers, with the advent of new and better drugs for treating metastatic melanoma, more doctors are working in the space. Even without that, you can find good melanoma centers scattered throughout the country. Jeff Sosman at Vanderbilt is a leader in the field. The team at Moffitt in Tampa are very good and have several thought leaders. Emory has a good program, as does UNC. A number of options–none of which, hopefully–you will ever need!

Tim–MRF

Kathy:

A depth of 4.2 mm is fairly deep. Do you know if it was ulcerated or not? That has an impact on how to follow you in the future.

Regarding treatment centers, with the advent of new and better drugs for treating metastatic melanoma, more doctors are working in the space. Even without that, you can find good melanoma centers scattered throughout the country. Jeff Sosman at Vanderbilt is a leader in the field. The team at Moffitt in Tampa are very good and have several thought leaders. Emory has a good program, as does UNC. A number of options–none of which, hopefully–you will ever need!

Tim–MRF

Kathy-

If it were me, I would go ahead and move to someplace congenial. You have to go ahead and live your life with joy and optimism even if you do worry about a possible cancer recurrence. However, I would make sure that wherever I moved was within easy driving distance of a top-notch melanoma center "just in case".

We live in Atlanta. I would say that the best melanoma center in the southeast is Moffitt in Tampa. Duke, UNC and Wake Forest (all in North Carolina) are also good. Sarah Cannon Cancer Center in Nashville is good. Emory– not so good in my opinion (I tend to look carefully at what melanoma clinical trials a facility offers and where their doctors publish. To me, Emory is second string.) UAB is a good cancer center but I don't know if melanoma is one of their specialities.

I suggest that you look for NCI designated "Comprehensive Cancer Centers" on the NCI web site http://www.cancer.gov/researchandfunding/extramural/cancercenters/find-a-cancer-center and then read up about any that interest you. Ask for input from the people here, too.

Kathy-

If it were me, I would go ahead and move to someplace congenial. You have to go ahead and live your life with joy and optimism even if you do worry about a possible cancer recurrence. However, I would make sure that wherever I moved was within easy driving distance of a top-notch melanoma center "just in case".

We live in Atlanta. I would say that the best melanoma center in the southeast is Moffitt in Tampa. Duke, UNC and Wake Forest (all in North Carolina) are also good. Sarah Cannon Cancer Center in Nashville is good. Emory– not so good in my opinion (I tend to look carefully at what melanoma clinical trials a facility offers and where their doctors publish. To me, Emory is second string.) UAB is a good cancer center but I don't know if melanoma is one of their specialities.

I suggest that you look for NCI designated "Comprehensive Cancer Centers" on the NCI web site http://www.cancer.gov/researchandfunding/extramural/cancercenters/find-a-cancer-center and then read up about any that interest you. Ask for input from the people here, too.

Kathy-

If it were me, I would go ahead and move to someplace congenial. You have to go ahead and live your life with joy and optimism even if you do worry about a possible cancer recurrence. However, I would make sure that wherever I moved was within easy driving distance of a top-notch melanoma center "just in case".

We live in Atlanta. I would say that the best melanoma center in the southeast is Moffitt in Tampa. Duke, UNC and Wake Forest (all in North Carolina) are also good. Sarah Cannon Cancer Center in Nashville is good. Emory– not so good in my opinion (I tend to look carefully at what melanoma clinical trials a facility offers and where their doctors publish. To me, Emory is second string.) UAB is a good cancer center but I don't know if melanoma is one of their specialities.

I suggest that you look for NCI designated "Comprehensive Cancer Centers" on the NCI web site http://www.cancer.gov/researchandfunding/extramural/cancercenters/find-a-cancer-center and then read up about any that interest you. Ask for input from the people here, too.