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Newly Diagnosed, Stage 2A, but called high risk by DecisionDX
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Newly Diagnosed, Stage 2A, but called high risk by DecisionDX

› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Newly Diagnosed, Stage 2A, but called high risk by DecisionDX

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    • March 16, 2018 at 11:16 pm
    Roxanne218
    Participant

      Hello fellow mel patients. I am newly diagnosed with a 2.6mm, non-ulcerated, and clear margins on path report after WLE. 2nd report followed from DecisionDX Melanoma saying my turmor is a class 2b, which is  high risk! Anybody else opt for the Decision DX test and receive worse results than your path report as what happened to me? What were your next steps after receiving class 2a or 2b results? PET scan? adjuvant treatments? I'm not sure what to do now. I prefer the Wait and See approach, but it may not be the best for me at this point. Thanks for reading.

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        • March 16, 2018 at 11:28 pm
        Janner
        Participant

          The test is new and not that many people – on here at least – have announced their results.  My question for you is can you actually do adjuvant therapy?  There are really no therapies approved for stage 2a.  The FDA doesn't take into account the results from that test.  So you are stage 2a and all adjuvant therapies are approved for stage 3 or 4.  Even Interferon wasn't really given to high risk stage II except for those who pushed for it.  And if your doctor prescribes it, will insurance pay for it?  Keep us updated on what you do!

            • March 17, 2018 at 6:59 pm
            Roxanne218
            Participant

              I know that adjuvant treatment would probably be available to me ONLY if I do the PET scan and end up having positive results, which of course would change my stage to a 3 or 4. Not sure I want to have the PET scan at this point because of the amt. of radiation, which can actually cause cancer in some people! So hard to decide… I'm seeing an oncologist or two before deciding on the scan.

              • April 1, 2018 at 7:49 am
              Susanlee528
              Participant

                I had the same situation as you, except I had one lymph node involved so was at stage 3a. The decisionRX result was 2b. My doc said this put me at a much much greater risk of recurrence so the decision was made to put me on Opdivo. I am so grateful for that test because without it, we wouldn’t have started any kind of further treatment and I’d have a 60+% chance of it coming back at stage IV. 

                • April 29, 2018 at 9:18 pm
                Roxanne218
                Participant

                  Update: I did the PET scan with weird results but my onc doesn't think they are melanoma related. One was a benign-appearing 6mm nodule on my thyroid. The other a 7mm focal point with slightly increased activity on my right breast, 2.6 max SUV. I went on to do more tests for the breast – a mammogram and ultrasound. Absolutely nothing found on both! Now they are recommending a Breast MRI for me. I wonder how much I should worry about this possibly being the start of breast cancer. I've read online articles with differing opinions. Has anyone else had this kind of situation?

                • March 21, 2018 at 8:19 am
                jetdoctor67
                Participant

                  Just received my results from the DecisionDx as 2a last Friday.  My Doctor said he could perscribe a CT Scan or PET but said it would only be for baseline since my path stage is 2A.  I declined to set up the scans however currently I've been having second thoughts.  Nonetheless, I was basically told to do full body scans with a dermotologist every three months for the next couple of years.  BTW did your insurance cover the test?

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