› Forums › Cutaneous Melanoma Community › Shoulder and arm pain before testing positive for melanoma and 2 years later pain reoccurring
- This topic has 3 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 5 months ago by
Prd10.
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- January 9, 2018 at 12:22 am
In september of 2015 I had a melanoma removed from my right arm. I first noticed it in april. It looked like a blood mole. My girlfriend wanted me to have it checked out but me being me I just looked it up on Google and it looked EXACTLY like a blood mole. So I decided I wasn’t going to have it checked out. in the middle of August I started to have very bad shoulder pain.(a sign from my guardian angel ?? )
I wrote it off as a strain for work. This pain went on for weeks untill I decided to have it checked out. While at that appointment I asked my doctor to look at the mole. He thought it was nothing serious but decided to remove and semd it out for testing. Few days later he calls me on a Sunday night to break the news to me.
I make an appointment for surgery and have the rest of the mass removed as well as a lymph node removed. The lymph node came back good and all further tests came back as no more cancer in my body. I was out of work for 4 weeks do to the 40 stitches on my bicep. Once that was healed the shoulder and arm pain was no longer there.it was gone within a week after the surgery.
FAST FORWARD to today….. the past 4 weeks I have had arm and shoulder pain again….. and once again I chalked it up to a strain at work ….
Then I read this article:Has anyone else experienced this before and after surgery ??
I have called the oncologist I dealt with and felt like her nurse just brushed me off about it. Telling me I should see the skin doctor or just go to my regular doctor.
I feel like they should be taking this more serious.
It feels like the same pain I had leading up to my surgery. Could my new pain be ANOTHER sign??
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- January 9, 2018 at 1:20 am
How deep was your original lesion? So your first arm/shoulder pain wasn't related to the melanoma, you had unrelated pain that made you notice the mole, right? The mole itself was not painful, right? Why would a similar pain think you had metastasis? Pain is not a common symptom for melanoma. Sometimes, it is more important to look for the most obvious cause and that probably isn't melanoma. That's why the nurse referred you to a regular doctor. A regular doc or orthopedic doc could look for a cause. Don't jump to conclusions when arm and shoulder pain are common.
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- January 9, 2018 at 1:58 am
Every case is unique and different, but I have to say that I never experienced any pain or even the slightest discomfort from my original melanoma lesion. Also, I don't recall ever hearing anyone tell of experiencing pain with a melanoma lesion. I suspect that is one of the reasons melanoma is so often ignored or over-looked.
However, I have experienced shoulder pain many times, sometimes bad enough that I even went to the doctor about it. One time I had an impingement due to an over-exertion, and another time it was diagnosed to be bursitis…neither of which of course is related to melanoma.
I have doubts that this pain has anything to do with melanoma, so I would recommend that you proceed with seeing your regular doctor.
Best of luck!
Mark (IIA)
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- January 9, 2018 at 2:05 am
Hi –
Sorry you have found yourself in this situation. A few things I wanted to share.
– I completely sympathize with a right arm primary. Sucks. Being right arm dominant makes it very difficult to differentiate pains.
– I had a lymph node recurrence after original diagnosis and I would describe it as arm tightness. I didn't think it was painful but my upper arm to elbow were tight. The lymph node was much deeper than I expected and my under arm felt like a rubber band. Doesn't sound like what you are describing.
– I have also had a liver tumor that caused intense right arm pain. The article you link, she also had liver involvement but wasn't being monitored. Very scary. For me, it was the type of pain that required heavy pain killers for any comfort. Doesn't sound like what you are describing.
I get sore from lifting weights and working out and everyday life. My rule of thumb is if I can ice or heat it and it responds than it's probably muscular.
It's hard to know what kind of follow up you are receiving and what your risk is without more information on your original primary. That info would be helpful. Hope the pain goes away
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Tagged: cutaneous melanoma
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