Emerald18

Thank you, Jackie! Your husband is very lucky to have you in his corner advocating for him and for others who follow in his footsteps! It’s encouraging to hear that his nodes and scans came back clear! I do believe the receptionist I had the misfortune of speaking to was a bad apple. Right from the moment she answered the phone, it sounded like she wanted to be anywhere but answering my questions. Or maybe she was just having a bad day. Either way, I agree with you that asking for an estimate is more than fair on my part instead of just leaving me hanging with having no idea when I will get an appointment. I get that patients will be triaged according to urgency but that’s no reason to be rude to someone who’s going though the anxiety and stress of just trying to get a final diagnosis so they know what they are dealing with! Thank goodness for this board and the support it provides! I have an appointment tomorrow with a local doctor to get a referral for a dermatologist who specializes in skin cancer and to see if she can get any more details from the surgeon’s office. Thanks again for your best wishes and I hope your husband continues to have clear scans!

Thank you, Melanie! I did not know that I can make my own appointment once I have a referral. I will definitely look into that! I am willing to travel if needed to get this done. I have another appointment at the local clinic here tomorrow and hopefully will have a much better defined game plan after that! I had my regular mammogram last week and got a call yesterday that they want to do an ultrasound to have a better look at something. They said it was fairly routine, but given my underlying condition I am not so sure. Maybe this will up the urgency in getting my WLE and SNB.

Thank you, SABKLYN! I am trying not to be so anxious about the wait although it is not easy! I will keep checking in with the surgeon’s office and hopefully I will have a date soon. When I called, I was just wanting to get some type of timeframe as to when I might get notified of a date but the receptionist would not say anything other than that the surgeon was still reviewing my file and I would get a letter. So frustrating. I’m going to see the GP who referred me to this surgeon tomorrow to see if they have or can get any more info than I was able to.

Thanks, JudiAu! Sorry to hear your lung and brain tests weren’t conducted earlier on. I will keep on my doctor! I have an appointment scheduled for tomorrow so hopefully I will get some firmer answers. Sending you positive thoughts on your immunotherapy and hoping you get successful results! This is not a fun group to join but the support and info I am receiving already has been a lifesaver!

Thank you, Affected! I am sorry about your husband’s diagnosis as well. My diagnosis came 2 weeks after my 59th birthday. My mother was also diagnosed with cancer (kidney) when she was 59. I was nervous about turning 59 but didn’t think I’d get bad news so soon! I’ve luckily been healthy my whole life until this. I have been reading so many posts on this site and am getting more and more informed every day. I have an appointment with another doctor at our local clinic tomorrow and I have a list of questions ready! Maybe she will have better luck getting a timeframe from the surgeon or refer me to a different surgeon who can do the WLE and SNB in a sooner timeframe. I’ve also found a dermatologist who specializes in skin cancer through my work health insurance and will get a referral to her as well. You are correct that we have to be our own advocates and I am working on that now! I hope your husband’s treatment starts soon and that he gets good results. Sending many positive thoughts your way as well!

Thank you. My lesion was superficial spreading melanoma with spindle cell features. Trying to figure of that is common for superficial spreading melanoma or do the spindle cell features mean something else.

Thank you! I am not sure of this doctor’s experience with melanoma but I have been referred to a different surgeon in a nearby city for the next step as I live in a small town and they don’t have the ability to do a SNB. I already have a list of questions ready for her/him when I see them! I was referred on Sept 5th but have not heard from them yet regarding a surgery date. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks of waiting. It took 4 weeks to get the original diagnosis. I am concerned that when I finally do get the appointment it won’t be for a couple of weeks after that and then how long to wait for SNB results? I have a “Best Doctors” service with my work insurance so I have contacted them this morning for some assistance in finding a melanoma specialist as well as a dermatologist as I have not been referred to one yet either. I saw the original surgeon again two days ago and asked him about a referral to a dermatologist and he said that would be coordinated through the city’s cancer centre but I haven’t heard from them either. The stress of waiting is horrible but I am trying different stress relieving techniques this week that seem to be helping some. I figure this is going to be a long road and I need to learn to take it one day/procedure at a time and not fret about what might be until it actually is!

Thank you!