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jchristianson
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jchristianson

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      • March 6, 2019 at 8:18 pm
      jchristianson
      Participant

        Hi rebecca.  before i begin i would like to mention that i had no clue according to ed williams posts that a complete lymph node dissection was no longer the standard of care.  if that is the route you choose to take, i can only give you my experience.  i was diagnosed with Stage 3B in 2014 and was being treated at Johns Hopkins.  my mole was on my right leg, and my sentinal node tested positive for MM.  i did go through a complete lymph node dissection in my right groin.  like you, am a relatively healthy person who had just been discharged out of the military.  in 2014 the only option presented to me was to have this surgery and to start immunotherapy (interfuron).  as far as the surgery was concerned, recovery was painfull, for about 2ish weeks.  5 years later i do suffer for minimal lymphadema (not even noticeable).  i also opted to not go on immunotherapy becuase the risk vs. reward was not worth it to me.  now that it is 2019, there are so many other options regarding immunotherapy.  trust me, i understand how stressfull this is, and if i could just give you one piece of advice: STAY POSITIVE!  you truly have to believe it.

        • March 7, 2019 at 5:55 pm
        jchristianson
        Participant

          First i would like to thank you for the wealth of information and for sharing your story.  second, i loved your discription of melanoma, i think we could be friends).  I am being seen by a Melanoma specialist (who also specializes in brain tumors) at UCSD.  He is the one who layed out this treatment plan for me.  he actually used the term "im technically cancer free" (NED) becuase they surgically removed 100% of the tumor.  but obviously puts you in the, catagorically speaking, higher percentile for yet again another reoccurrance.  

          how was your quality of life during brain radiation and opdivo infusions?

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