klmillard10

So happy to hear that! Great news!!! We also both share the same doctor, Dr. Buchbinder is the best! I have my MRI on 7/31, hoping for good results!!! Enjoy your great news!

I am sorry to hear that you are facing this now, in addition to all of you have been though. I had a full groin dissection on March 7th and was terrified of the surgery and the recovery. While it has not been a breeze it is not nearly as bad as I had thought. I highly suggest meeting with a lymphedema specialist prior to your surgery to get your base measurements and as soon as possible after the surgery, start going for treatment even if you only have minimal swelling. Just ten weeks out from surgery, my thigh is only 2cm larger then my non afflicted leg. Getting a compression stocking and wearing kineseo tape has also helped immensely. Yes, you will need nurses at home but only for the short term, they will moniter your incison, most likely give your your blood thinning injections and help with your drain. Again, I was petrfried of the drain, but it was not a big deal at all! Also, I highly recommend purchasing a leg pillow ( walmart, Amazon etc) to keep your leg elevated when sitting or laying down, I believe this also helped me immensely. Pain wise, I was fine a week out, then it moderated to an ache and now 10 weeks out nothing at all!! Good luck and please contact me if you have any further questions!

Do not wait! My melanoma was a brown mole with also black in it. I went to my derm and had it biopsed, it came back as melanoma. I am currently recovering from my second surgery, removal of my lymph nodes but at this point do not need any further treatment. My oncologist remarked that I had a waited a few more months, I could had been dealing with another stage, rather then stage 3A. I sincerely hope it is just a mole, best of luck!!!

I am sorry to hear that you are in in this situation, he sound eerily similar to mine and I to, was concerned about the surgery. I am not 7 weeks out from a full groin dissection and am so happy that I did it. The recovery was not easy, but it was not half as hard as I had anticipated. I did have my drain for 6 weeks but it was not as cumbersome as I thought and I just became used to it. I have zero swelling in my lower leg and ankle, and my right thigh is now only slightly larger then my left. I have gone for lymphatic drain massage 3 times to just "jump start" my system so to speak and I do wear my compression garment everyday. When I am sitting, I keep my feet elevated ( iIpurchased an amazing leg pillow from amazon) and doing these things have really helped. I had grave concerns as I am a flight attendant and my doctor has told me that as long as I follow what I am doing, ( garmet, elevating etc). I should be OK. I totally understand your concern, I just left it was best for me (one positive sentinel node was all I had), but again it is a personal decison and I wanted to ensure I did all I could. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any other questions, best of luck!!!

I am so sorry that you are not dealing with this. I to, was just diagnosed with stage 3A in February. I just had the lymph node dissection on 3/7 and honestly, it is not nearly as bad as I thought. Everyday becomes a little easier in terms of mobility, pain and swelling. I was able to leave the hospital after 2 days and since then have just rested as home, leg elevated all the time to prevent swelling and I was off of my pain meds in a week. My walk is still a limp and I still have the drains but honestly, you should be fine with the surgery, but I would expect at least 6 weeks. I am  flight attendant so I am out of work at least 3 months, but that is do to the circumstances of the job, rather then the usual recovery! Best of luck, you will be fine!