› Forums › General Melanoma Community › What will my options be?
- This topic has 15 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 11 months ago by
youngann.
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- June 23, 2016 at 10:40 am
WLE and SLNB completed yesterday….results in five to seven days. Oncologist indicated that should the results be positive, I will require more surgery to remove all the lymph nodes from the area where the SLNB was performed(right arm pit). But…..is that my only option??? Am I wrong in thinking that before we remove those lymph nodes, that maybe we should be looking for cancer elsewhere in my body, and develop a plan to treat that?
I sincerely appreciate any advice you can offer!
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- June 23, 2016 at 11:16 am
My WLE and SLNB from 6/2 both came back positive. Yesterday, I had a brain MRI and a whole body PET/CT scan.
If they come back negative for mets then, on 6/27, I'll have the remaining lymph nodes removed from under my right arm. After that I'll start on Yervoy.
If the scans come back positive for mets, then we'll leave the lymph nodes in place while we address the mets.
My doc said that this was pretty standard treatment but I really don't have anything to compare it to.
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- June 23, 2016 at 11:16 am
My WLE and SLNB from 6/2 both came back positive. Yesterday, I had a brain MRI and a whole body PET/CT scan.
If they come back negative for mets then, on 6/27, I'll have the remaining lymph nodes removed from under my right arm. After that I'll start on Yervoy.
If the scans come back positive for mets, then we'll leave the lymph nodes in place while we address the mets.
My doc said that this was pretty standard treatment but I really don't have anything to compare it to.
-
- June 23, 2016 at 11:16 am
My WLE and SLNB from 6/2 both came back positive. Yesterday, I had a brain MRI and a whole body PET/CT scan.
If they come back negative for mets then, on 6/27, I'll have the remaining lymph nodes removed from under my right arm. After that I'll start on Yervoy.
If the scans come back positive for mets, then we'll leave the lymph nodes in place while we address the mets.
My doc said that this was pretty standard treatment but I really don't have anything to compare it to.
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- June 23, 2016 at 12:50 pm
If there are positive nodes, you would, or should have a PET and CAT scan to make sure there is no other area of your body involved. From there, depending upon the results, you will agree on a game plan.
as for the lymph node dissection, that was the standard of care for people that had melanoma which migrated to the nodes. There are more specialists who do not recommend this and instead, suggest close monitoring. i was given that choice when I was first diagnosed after the SLNB showed cells that had migrated to the lymph node basin in my left groin. I opted for the CLND.
Hopefully your results will be negative. However, if not, discuss those options with your melanoma specialist. If you're not comfortable with the doctor's care plan, get a second opinion.
Good luck!
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- June 23, 2016 at 12:50 pm
If there are positive nodes, you would, or should have a PET and CAT scan to make sure there is no other area of your body involved. From there, depending upon the results, you will agree on a game plan.
as for the lymph node dissection, that was the standard of care for people that had melanoma which migrated to the nodes. There are more specialists who do not recommend this and instead, suggest close monitoring. i was given that choice when I was first diagnosed after the SLNB showed cells that had migrated to the lymph node basin in my left groin. I opted for the CLND.
Hopefully your results will be negative. However, if not, discuss those options with your melanoma specialist. If you're not comfortable with the doctor's care plan, get a second opinion.
Good luck!
-
- June 23, 2016 at 12:50 pm
If there are positive nodes, you would, or should have a PET and CAT scan to make sure there is no other area of your body involved. From there, depending upon the results, you will agree on a game plan.
as for the lymph node dissection, that was the standard of care for people that had melanoma which migrated to the nodes. There are more specialists who do not recommend this and instead, suggest close monitoring. i was given that choice when I was first diagnosed after the SLNB showed cells that had migrated to the lymph node basin in my left groin. I opted for the CLND.
Hopefully your results will be negative. However, if not, discuss those options with your melanoma specialist. If you're not comfortable with the doctor's care plan, get a second opinion.
Good luck!
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- June 23, 2016 at 4:15 pm
No, that is not the only option. It is YOUR body and YOU can decide if you want to have a full dissection or not. Some doctors still recommend it and others are not recommending it anymore. I did not have a full dissection after finding out 3 out of 4 nodes were positive. I had a full body PET scan and brain MRI the week after surgery, with or without knowing if the nodes were positive yet. You still need to get scanned. There has been research coming out showing that there is not a lot of difference in overall survival and recurrance between patients who had a dissection and patients who did not. My doctors at UCSF did not recommend it, they don't feel that it's worth the risk of lymphedema and more recovery time and losing so many lymph nodes when it doesn't show statistically that it's going to help in the long run anyway. So, I was happy not to go back under the knife and I started on Ipi as an adjuvant systemic treatment.
Whatever you decide, just remember it is your body, and only YOU can decide how you want it treated, the doctors are just there for guidance, they aren't the boss of you 🙂
All the best,
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- June 24, 2016 at 2:04 pm
Thank you so very much for validating what I already felt! At this stage right now, I am traveling two hours one way for treatment, and the dissection, and the whole lymphedema situation scares the heck out of me. I'm assuming if I get the scans, and they come back showing mets, I will at least be able to get treatment from an oncologist in my home town. Can't make any decisions until the pathology report comes back, but at least I know I have options.
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- June 24, 2016 at 2:04 pm
Thank you so very much for validating what I already felt! At this stage right now, I am traveling two hours one way for treatment, and the dissection, and the whole lymphedema situation scares the heck out of me. I'm assuming if I get the scans, and they come back showing mets, I will at least be able to get treatment from an oncologist in my home town. Can't make any decisions until the pathology report comes back, but at least I know I have options.
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- June 24, 2016 at 2:04 pm
Thank you so very much for validating what I already felt! At this stage right now, I am traveling two hours one way for treatment, and the dissection, and the whole lymphedema situation scares the heck out of me. I'm assuming if I get the scans, and they come back showing mets, I will at least be able to get treatment from an oncologist in my home town. Can't make any decisions until the pathology report comes back, but at least I know I have options.
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- June 24, 2016 at 3:42 pm
Like you, I'm also travelling 2 hours for my surgeries however, my onc has designated a local hemOc to actually administer my infusions. This means that I'll be having them done 20 minutes from my home…,yay! So don't forget to ask for that IF you need further treatment.
Here's hoping for negative results for you.
Ann
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- June 24, 2016 at 3:42 pm
Like you, I'm also travelling 2 hours for my surgeries however, my onc has designated a local hemOc to actually administer my infusions. This means that I'll be having them done 20 minutes from my home…,yay! So don't forget to ask for that IF you need further treatment.
Here's hoping for negative results for you.
Ann
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- June 24, 2016 at 3:42 pm
Like you, I'm also travelling 2 hours for my surgeries however, my onc has designated a local hemOc to actually administer my infusions. This means that I'll be having them done 20 minutes from my home…,yay! So don't forget to ask for that IF you need further treatment.
Here's hoping for negative results for you.
Ann
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- June 23, 2016 at 4:15 pm
No, that is not the only option. It is YOUR body and YOU can decide if you want to have a full dissection or not. Some doctors still recommend it and others are not recommending it anymore. I did not have a full dissection after finding out 3 out of 4 nodes were positive. I had a full body PET scan and brain MRI the week after surgery, with or without knowing if the nodes were positive yet. You still need to get scanned. There has been research coming out showing that there is not a lot of difference in overall survival and recurrance between patients who had a dissection and patients who did not. My doctors at UCSF did not recommend it, they don't feel that it's worth the risk of lymphedema and more recovery time and losing so many lymph nodes when it doesn't show statistically that it's going to help in the long run anyway. So, I was happy not to go back under the knife and I started on Ipi as an adjuvant systemic treatment.
Whatever you decide, just remember it is your body, and only YOU can decide how you want it treated, the doctors are just there for guidance, they aren't the boss of you 🙂
All the best,
-
- June 23, 2016 at 4:15 pm
No, that is not the only option. It is YOUR body and YOU can decide if you want to have a full dissection or not. Some doctors still recommend it and others are not recommending it anymore. I did not have a full dissection after finding out 3 out of 4 nodes were positive. I had a full body PET scan and brain MRI the week after surgery, with or without knowing if the nodes were positive yet. You still need to get scanned. There has been research coming out showing that there is not a lot of difference in overall survival and recurrance between patients who had a dissection and patients who did not. My doctors at UCSF did not recommend it, they don't feel that it's worth the risk of lymphedema and more recovery time and losing so many lymph nodes when it doesn't show statistically that it's going to help in the long run anyway. So, I was happy not to go back under the knife and I started on Ipi as an adjuvant systemic treatment.
Whatever you decide, just remember it is your body, and only YOU can decide how you want it treated, the doctors are just there for guidance, they aren't the boss of you 🙂
All the best,
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