Very scared-please help. Stage II Melanoma
Jill-
Comments
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very scared
first of all your fiancee is not yet staged. You may be reading the pathology report with gives you the depth of the tumor, which read Breslow depth X mm. This will give you an idea to the best case scenario. Stage II, has a very good prognosis. I have no idea where you are reading the 5-10 years. All cancers are quoted in terms of survival rates in these terms so it doesn't mean he's going to die in 10 years.
The next step is for the Oncologist (and it needs to be a melanoma specialist) to to a Wide Excision to make sure there is no other cancer cells, he will probably do a chest X'ray, maybe a CAT scan, depending on all that they may or may not decide to check the lymph nodes near the tumor. It's an easy surgery, don't worry about that. Assuming the lumph nodes are clear and the lungs are clear, he's good to go! Just regular scans will likely be the recommendation,
Good luck,
Mary stage 30 -
Feel betterwashoegal said:very scared
first of all your fiancee is not yet staged. You may be reading the pathology report with gives you the depth of the tumor, which read Breslow depth X mm. This will give you an idea to the best case scenario. Stage II, has a very good prognosis. I have no idea where you are reading the 5-10 years. All cancers are quoted in terms of survival rates in these terms so it doesn't mean he's going to die in 10 years.
The next step is for the Oncologist (and it needs to be a melanoma specialist) to to a Wide Excision to make sure there is no other cancer cells, he will probably do a chest X'ray, maybe a CAT scan, depending on all that they may or may not decide to check the lymph nodes near the tumor. It's an easy surgery, don't worry about that. Assuming the lumph nodes are clear and the lungs are clear, he's good to go! Just regular scans will likely be the recommendation,
Good luck,
Mary stage 3
Hi Mary,
Thank you so much for your reply. Although, I am a little worried that the cancer isn't staged yet. He goes for surgery in a few weeks in ann arbor, mi. It is a melnoma specialist he's seeing. He also has a consultation an hour before the surgery, and i'm a little confused as to how they're going to know how much of his skin to take by just seeing him an hour before the surgery? How long does the surgery take and does he have to stay overnight? He recently had a chest mri or ct scan, i forgot which one and that came back ok. I'm just very scared for him, and he really wants to be around to raise our daughter. I've just been a wreck all day crying and looking things up online. I think i'm making the situation worse, but i just want to learn as much as i can about melanoma.0 -
Hi Cubsgirl21, I am a stagecubsgirl21 said:Feel better
Hi Mary,
Thank you so much for your reply. Although, I am a little worried that the cancer isn't staged yet. He goes for surgery in a few weeks in ann arbor, mi. It is a melnoma specialist he's seeing. He also has a consultation an hour before the surgery, and i'm a little confused as to how they're going to know how much of his skin to take by just seeing him an hour before the surgery? How long does the surgery take and does he have to stay overnight? He recently had a chest mri or ct scan, i forgot which one and that came back ok. I'm just very scared for him, and he really wants to be around to raise our daughter. I've just been a wreck all day crying and looking things up online. I think i'm making the situation worse, but i just want to learn as much as i can about melanoma.
Hi Cubsgirl21, I am a stage 3b melanoma. all of my surgeries were done in Ann Arbor. Could not have asked for better care. If I remember right( my surgeries were 5 yrs ago) the consultation b4 is basically with the anesitist. Seems like the surgeron was there and said what he was going to do also, but had heard it a hundred times by then anyways. Great doctors, some wonderful nurses and a couple of great nurse practitioners. They will remove the tumor,believe they wanted a centimeter?? of clear tissue around the site. They will send it to the lab, if any cancer cells are too close to the margin, there will be another surgery to remove more tissue(at a later time). They may do a sentinal node biopsy, where they remove the first 2 or 3 of the closest lymph nodes, I believe they will stage him after those results are in. These procedures were done outpatient. Only spent the night when they removed all the lymph nodes in a later surgery. Really a good place to be if you have to go through this, I cant say enough good things about the staff @ u/m0 -
Very Scared
Jill,
It is so hard not to automatically think the worst. My husband is stage II. His melanoma was on his chest also. 2.45mm deep Clark Level 4. They did another WLE and SLNB as an outpatient. Do you know what the lab reports state as in the depth? You will make yourself absolutely crazy looking at websites so don't over do it.
Depending on the depth of the melanoma will depend on if they do a WLE or WLE & SLNB. Go see the specialist and be ready to ask all your questions.
Please keep in touch and let us know how he's doing.
Suzi0 -
Trying to feel better.....cubsgirl21 said:Feel better
Hi Mary,
Thank you so much for your reply. Although, I am a little worried that the cancer isn't staged yet. He goes for surgery in a few weeks in ann arbor, mi. It is a melnoma specialist he's seeing. He also has a consultation an hour before the surgery, and i'm a little confused as to how they're going to know how much of his skin to take by just seeing him an hour before the surgery? How long does the surgery take and does he have to stay overnight? He recently had a chest mri or ct scan, i forgot which one and that came back ok. I'm just very scared for him, and he really wants to be around to raise our daughter. I've just been a wreck all day crying and looking things up online. I think i'm making the situation worse, but i just want to learn as much as i can about melanoma.
The reason your fiancee isn't staged yet is because they need to make sure there is no spread of the cancer cells. Not to scare you more, but my small mole, which was actually fairly deep (3mm) ended up with a 6 " scar. That was on my side on the waist-line. Hopefully, since it is on the chest they are a little nicer but maybe not. The procedure is referred to as a WLE (Wide L???? Excision). It is a simple procedure, the time is in the prep work and waiting as near as I could tell. I would bet the actual surgery took no more than 20 minutes.
The second procedure referred to here SNB (Sentinel Node Biopsy). Starts with a radiologist taking dye and injecting it into the site where your mole was. They trace where the dye goes, and finds which lymph nodes it hits first. Each set of lymph nodes have 2-4 sentinel nodes which disseminate the lymph fluid to the other lymph nodes. They remove the sentinel nodes and biopsy those, if they are clear it is a very good indicator the cancer did not spread to the lymph system. Again, this I found to be an easy prodedure with a quick recovery.
Unfortunately, I had two positive for cancer....next step cut the rest of the lymph nodes out and see what you find. But I am sure you won't have to endure that.
As you can tell, you learn way too much about this stuff when you go through it. For right now, just know that since he had a clear chest xray and I am assuming he doesn't have any swollen lymph nodes, you should feel really happy. He may have caught this beast just in time!0 -
Some people are telling meShines said:Very Scared
Jill,
It is so hard not to automatically think the worst. My husband is stage II. His melanoma was on his chest also. 2.45mm deep Clark Level 4. They did another WLE and SLNB as an outpatient. Do you know what the lab reports state as in the depth? You will make yourself absolutely crazy looking at websites so don't over do it.
Depending on the depth of the melanoma will depend on if they do a WLE or WLE & SLNB. Go see the specialist and be ready to ask all your questions.
Please keep in touch and let us know how he's doing.
Suzi
Some people are telling me that his stage of melanoma isn't discovered yet. The doctor called Chris and just said that it was a 2 and that we caught it in time. So i don't know if that means that was how deep it was. I know i shouldn't think too much about it until after he has the surgery to see if it spread anywhere. How is your husband doing now? What kind of treatment does he have? Also, i know this sounds bad, but we live in hour from ann arbor and we have a 2 year old daughter. We also don't have family or anyone here to watch her so i can go with Chris when he has the surgery. I also don't want to bring my daughter to sit in the hospital all day and have her exposed to whatever is floating around the hospital especially this time of year. So Chris is going to drive there by himself and then i'm just going to pick him up when the surgery is over with my car and have my friend drive my car home. I don't want Chris to be alone before the surgery, but at the same time I want to protect my daughter. Is this okay what i'm doing? ;-(0 -
friendscubsgirl21 said:Some people are telling me
Some people are telling me that his stage of melanoma isn't discovered yet. The doctor called Chris and just said that it was a 2 and that we caught it in time. So i don't know if that means that was how deep it was. I know i shouldn't think too much about it until after he has the surgery to see if it spread anywhere. How is your husband doing now? What kind of treatment does he have? Also, i know this sounds bad, but we live in hour from ann arbor and we have a 2 year old daughter. We also don't have family or anyone here to watch her so i can go with Chris when he has the surgery. I also don't want to bring my daughter to sit in the hospital all day and have her exposed to whatever is floating around the hospital especially this time of year. So Chris is going to drive there by himself and then i'm just going to pick him up when the surgery is over with my car and have my friend drive my car home. I don't want Chris to be alone before the surgery, but at the same time I want to protect my daughter. Is this okay what i'm doing? ;-(
Hi,
Can you have your friend watch your daughter. The one who would drive your car. That way you can be there for the surgery. I think that would be important. He will be scared and having you there will be a great help. Also, the Dr will come out right after the surgery to talk to you. You should be there. Usually they come out while the person is still in the recovery room. If you cannot find a friend to watch your daughter, I would bring her, because it really is important to be with Chris right now. The Dr will give you an idea of time in surgery, you can then take your child outside to a grassy area to play and return to the waiting area a little before the expected time the surgery will end. You don't want to miss meeting with the surgeon after it is over. Best of luck to you.0 -
I thought the surgery wasforme said:friends
Hi,
Can you have your friend watch your daughter. The one who would drive your car. That way you can be there for the surgery. I think that would be important. He will be scared and having you there will be a great help. Also, the Dr will come out right after the surgery to talk to you. You should be there. Usually they come out while the person is still in the recovery room. If you cannot find a friend to watch your daughter, I would bring her, because it really is important to be with Chris right now. The Dr will give you an idea of time in surgery, you can then take your child outside to a grassy area to play and return to the waiting area a little before the expected time the surgery will end. You don't want to miss meeting with the surgeon after it is over. Best of luck to you.
I thought the surgery was going to be something routine? Is he going to have to stay overnight? I think Chris said on monday he was going to get a call from u of m as to what to expect from the surgery. Also, if i couldn't go with him initially, I would be there when he wakes up. It's just hard because no one else knows what's going on with Chris now expect for me and my friend. He lost his dad a year ago and he doesn't want to burden his family now with this news. At least not until he knows more info. If everything turns out fine, then he's just not going to say anything. It's hard to really do anything here since there's no family and very very few friends.0 -
Chris's surgerycubsgirl21 said:I thought the surgery was
I thought the surgery was going to be something routine? Is he going to have to stay overnight? I think Chris said on monday he was going to get a call from u of m as to what to expect from the surgery. Also, if i couldn't go with him initially, I would be there when he wakes up. It's just hard because no one else knows what's going on with Chris now expect for me and my friend. He lost his dad a year ago and he doesn't want to burden his family now with this news. At least not until he knows more info. If everything turns out fine, then he's just not going to say anything. It's hard to really do anything here since there's no family and very very few friends.
Not knowing Chris, it is hard to say what to do. For me, for this particular surgery, I flew to the hospital, took a taxi, and had the surgery by myself. It was not a big deal. To make sure I did not forget what the doctor told me after the surgery, I had him write it down. You never know what the drugs do to you, even though you think you are coherent you lose bits of time and conversation. The biopsy doesn't come back at that very second anyway, so it's not like your going to know if you have good or bad news at that time. It didn't bother me to do the out patient procedure alone at all, although the hospital staff was horrified! I played on that...all the better for me
.
Seriously, do whatever makes you and Chris most comfortable. I didn't tell anyone about my cancer either until I knew the exact extent of it. Once they finished cutting and scanning, etc and all the results were in and I am now hopefully just on maintenance I have finally let the cat out of the bag. So I know where Chris is coming from. No reason to worry people, there may be very little to worry about....here's hoping!
Love and best wishes,
Mary
Stage 30 -
Yeah I do plan on talking towashoegal said:Chris's surgery
Not knowing Chris, it is hard to say what to do. For me, for this particular surgery, I flew to the hospital, took a taxi, and had the surgery by myself. It was not a big deal. To make sure I did not forget what the doctor told me after the surgery, I had him write it down. You never know what the drugs do to you, even though you think you are coherent you lose bits of time and conversation. The biopsy doesn't come back at that very second anyway, so it's not like your going to know if you have good or bad news at that time. It didn't bother me to do the out patient procedure alone at all, although the hospital staff was horrified! I played on that...all the better for me.
Seriously, do whatever makes you and Chris most comfortable. I didn't tell anyone about my cancer either until I knew the exact extent of it. Once they finished cutting and scanning, etc and all the results were in and I am now hopefully just on maintenance I have finally let the cat out of the bag. So I know where Chris is coming from. No reason to worry people, there may be very little to worry about....here's hoping!
Love and best wishes,
Mary
Stage 3
Yeah I do plan on talking to a doctor when i go pick Chris up for sure. Before I leave there, i want to know everything. So how long does he have to stay in the hospital when the surgery is over? Just wondering what to expect after surgery. It's scheduled for 2pm on the 29th. So Mary, you flew to the hospital? There wasn't anywhere closer that could do the surgery?0 -
My experiencecubsgirl21 said:Yeah I do plan on talking to
Yeah I do plan on talking to a doctor when i go pick Chris up for sure. Before I leave there, i want to know everything. So how long does he have to stay in the hospital when the surgery is over? Just wondering what to expect after surgery. It's scheduled for 2pm on the 29th. So Mary, you flew to the hospital? There wasn't anywhere closer that could do the surgery?
We live in Northern Nevada, now with all the sun here you would think there would be alot of Mel specialists - not a one! I had a choice of going to San Francisco or Santa Monica. My sister lives near Santa Monica in So. CA. so that's where I went. It's only about an hours flight. I caught a taxi, checked into the hospital about 800 a.m., no time to get scared. I was scheduled to have a Wide excision and a Sentinel Node Biopsy. I waited, I waited, and waited, finally went down to radiology and waited some more. Finally they stuck some radioactive dye in me, the first one didn't go anywhere, so they did it a second time. This one worked! Then radiologist came in looked on the screen and marked four points on my arm pit and was gone. I went back up to the out-patient waiting area and watched T.V. - it was about 10:30. Prep for surgery, wait.......12:00, dr came in, he'll see me in about 20 minutes after he grabs a bite, (good no operating on an empty stomach).
12:30 or so I am in the OR, 1:30 I am in recovery, 2:30 I am getting my walking papers. LONG day but most of it was waiting! I think I got the biopsy results from the SNB in about 4-5 days.
My paperwork said the surgery would take 2 hours too...I just looked at it. What a laugh! The surgery takes 20-30 minutes , the waiting takes 4 hours, the prep takes and hour. OH-HUM!:-(0 -
Wow that was a long day. Allwashoegal said:My experience
We live in Northern Nevada, now with all the sun here you would think there would be alot of Mel specialists - not a one! I had a choice of going to San Francisco or Santa Monica. My sister lives near Santa Monica in So. CA. so that's where I went. It's only about an hours flight. I caught a taxi, checked into the hospital about 800 a.m., no time to get scared. I was scheduled to have a Wide excision and a Sentinel Node Biopsy. I waited, I waited, and waited, finally went down to radiology and waited some more. Finally they stuck some radioactive dye in me, the first one didn't go anywhere, so they did it a second time. This one worked! Then radiologist came in looked on the screen and marked four points on my arm pit and was gone. I went back up to the out-patient waiting area and watched T.V. - it was about 10:30. Prep for surgery, wait.......12:00, dr came in, he'll see me in about 20 minutes after he grabs a bite, (good no operating on an empty stomach).
12:30 or so I am in the OR, 1:30 I am in recovery, 2:30 I am getting my walking papers. LONG day but most of it was waiting! I think I got the biopsy results from the SNB in about 4-5 days.
My paperwork said the surgery would take 2 hours too...I just looked at it. What a laugh! The surgery takes 20-30 minutes , the waiting takes 4 hours, the prep takes and hour. OH-HUM!:-(
Wow that was a long day. All the doctor told Chris was that he has a consultation at 1 and then surgery at 2pm. So i'm guessing they're going to do that Wide excision and then from there I don't know yet. I'm not sure if they're going to check his lymph nodes or anything. They're supposed to call him today to tell him more details I guess. So how were your biopsy results? Did you have to fly back there for any more work? How are you doing now and how were you after the surgery? Chris is having it on the middle of his chest. I know he's going to have a scar there, but does it hurt a lot after it's over?0 -
Some people are telling mecubsgirl21 said:Some people are telling me
Some people are telling me that his stage of melanoma isn't discovered yet. The doctor called Chris and just said that it was a 2 and that we caught it in time. So i don't know if that means that was how deep it was. I know i shouldn't think too much about it until after he has the surgery to see if it spread anywhere. How is your husband doing now? What kind of treatment does he have? Also, i know this sounds bad, but we live in hour from ann arbor and we have a 2 year old daughter. We also don't have family or anyone here to watch her so i can go with Chris when he has the surgery. I also don't want to bring my daughter to sit in the hospital all day and have her exposed to whatever is floating around the hospital especially this time of year. So Chris is going to drive there by himself and then i'm just going to pick him up when the surgery is over with my car and have my friend drive my car home. I don't want Chris to be alone before the surgery, but at the same time I want to protect my daughter. Is this okay what i'm doing? ;-(
Do you have the lab results back. You can request a copy. Thats what I did with my husband. Had him sign a paper saying it was okay to fax them to me. Then went to a website I had found and typed in what it said as I couldn't reallly understand most of it. They replied back within a couple days telling me what it meant in laymen terms. The lab report should tell you the depth of the melanoma. My husband is doing fine now. No treatments as his sentinel biopsy came back clear. We just go back to San Francisco every six months for now to make sure it hasn't come back.
I can't say I blame you for not wanting to take your daughter to the hospital. I sat one day waiting for my dad's surgery and by the time I got home I was sicker than I had ever been. With my husbands surgery I took him in, got the paperwork done got him set up and while he was in surgery went to lunch and took a walk around SF. I had given my cell number to the doctors/nurses and anyone else that would take it so they could call me when he was done. Worked out perfect to meet the doctor etc. Remember it doesn't matter how you work it out as long as it gets done.... As for telling family members I think I would let them know either way so they can be aware.. Family history etc. I now take my three kids to the derm on a regular basis to make sure nothing like this happens to them.
Best of Luck and keep in touch.
Suzi0 -
WLEcubsgirl21 said:Wow that was a long day. All
Wow that was a long day. All the doctor told Chris was that he has a consultation at 1 and then surgery at 2pm. So i'm guessing they're going to do that Wide excision and then from there I don't know yet. I'm not sure if they're going to check his lymph nodes or anything. They're supposed to call him today to tell him more details I guess. So how were your biopsy results? Did you have to fly back there for any more work? How are you doing now and how were you after the surgery? Chris is having it on the middle of his chest. I know he's going to have a scar there, but does it hurt a lot after it's over?
I'm going to bet that they want him to check into the hospital much earlier, paperwork, prep,etc. He'll probably be released about 3:30 or 4:00 depending on how he reacts to the drugs, if the surgery was on time and when the doctor actually gets a chance to sign him out. Don't be surprised if he's sick to his stomach, I react that way every time, no matter how much anti-nausea meds they give me I get sick.
My tumor was deeper than Chris's, 3mm. I had two lymph nodes with cancer (very small amounts). I went back a second time and had all the lymph nodes under my right arm removed. Thankfully they were all clear. So now it's regular scans for who knows how long.
My wide excision is on my side on the waist - lots of extra skin - so it was pretty easy for me. Large scar but no real pain. Usual discomfort with a healing cut but nothing unusual. Only odd thing was the "dissolving" stitches kept popping out above the skin about 2 months after the surgery and I got my GP to remove them.
Keep in touch
Mary
Stage 30 -
Chris doesn't have his labShines said:Some people are telling me
Do you have the lab results back. You can request a copy. Thats what I did with my husband. Had him sign a paper saying it was okay to fax them to me. Then went to a website I had found and typed in what it said as I couldn't reallly understand most of it. They replied back within a couple days telling me what it meant in laymen terms. The lab report should tell you the depth of the melanoma. My husband is doing fine now. No treatments as his sentinel biopsy came back clear. We just go back to San Francisco every six months for now to make sure it hasn't come back.
I can't say I blame you for not wanting to take your daughter to the hospital. I sat one day waiting for my dad's surgery and by the time I got home I was sicker than I had ever been. With my husbands surgery I took him in, got the paperwork done got him set up and while he was in surgery went to lunch and took a walk around SF. I had given my cell number to the doctors/nurses and anyone else that would take it so they could call me when he was done. Worked out perfect to meet the doctor etc. Remember it doesn't matter how you work it out as long as it gets done.... As for telling family members I think I would let them know either way so they can be aware.. Family history etc. I now take my three kids to the derm on a regular basis to make sure nothing like this happens to them.
Best of Luck and keep in touch.
Suzi
Chris doesn't have his lab results from when he had his mole removed. I told him to call his doctor and have them mailed here. Chris has been put to sleep before when he had his wisdom teeth removed and he had no bad reactions or nausea. If it were me, I do get nausea from whatever they give you to put you to sleep. When I woke up after I had my wisdom teeth removed, I threw up. ;-(
Yeah I think i'm going to stay home and just drive to the hospital when my daughter wakes up from her nap. I'm also going to tell Chris to give the doctor my number to call if they need to. If i take my daughter with me without a nap all day, there will be major problems. I don't really don't want my friend that's going to drive with me to watch my daughter because i'm not comfortable with it. She's a good friend but It makes me uneasy to leave Sophie with her. Chris is definately not going to tell anyone unless it's serious. His family lives in Canada and my family is 5 driving hours away. You're right though....it doesn't matter how it happens, the thing that matters is that he's getting it taken care of and it's not like i'm leaving him at the hospital all night. I'll take care of him when he's home like I do anyways. ;-)0 -
Chris doesn't have his labShines said:Some people are telling me
Do you have the lab results back. You can request a copy. Thats what I did with my husband. Had him sign a paper saying it was okay to fax them to me. Then went to a website I had found and typed in what it said as I couldn't reallly understand most of it. They replied back within a couple days telling me what it meant in laymen terms. The lab report should tell you the depth of the melanoma. My husband is doing fine now. No treatments as his sentinel biopsy came back clear. We just go back to San Francisco every six months for now to make sure it hasn't come back.
I can't say I blame you for not wanting to take your daughter to the hospital. I sat one day waiting for my dad's surgery and by the time I got home I was sicker than I had ever been. With my husbands surgery I took him in, got the paperwork done got him set up and while he was in surgery went to lunch and took a walk around SF. I had given my cell number to the doctors/nurses and anyone else that would take it so they could call me when he was done. Worked out perfect to meet the doctor etc. Remember it doesn't matter how you work it out as long as it gets done.... As for telling family members I think I would let them know either way so they can be aware.. Family history etc. I now take my three kids to the derm on a regular basis to make sure nothing like this happens to them.
Best of Luck and keep in touch.
Suzi
Chris doesn't have his lab results from when he had his mole removed. I told him to call his doctor and have them mailed here. Chris has been put to sleep before when he had his wisdom teeth removed and he had no bad reactions or nausea. If it were me, I do get nausea from whatever they give you to put you to sleep. When I woke up after I had my wisdom teeth removed, I threw up. ;-(
Yeah I think i'm going to stay home and just drive to the hospital when my daughter wakes up from her nap. I'm also going to tell Chris to give the doctor my number to call if they need to. If i take my daughter with me without a nap all day, there will be major problems. I don't really don't want my friend that's going to drive with me to watch my daughter because i'm not comfortable with it. She's a good friend but It makes me uneasy to leave Sophie with her. Chris is definately not going to tell anyone unless it's serious. His family lives in Canada and my family is 5 driving hours away. You're right though....it doesn't matter how it happens, the thing that matters is that he's getting it taken care of and it's not like i'm leaving him at the hospital all night. I'll take care of him when he's home like I do anyways. ;-)0 -
Chris doesn't have his lab.cubsgirl21 said:Chris doesn't have his lab
Chris doesn't have his lab results from when he had his mole removed. I told him to call his doctor and have them mailed here. Chris has been put to sleep before when he had his wisdom teeth removed and he had no bad reactions or nausea. If it were me, I do get nausea from whatever they give you to put you to sleep. When I woke up after I had my wisdom teeth removed, I threw up. ;-(
Yeah I think i'm going to stay home and just drive to the hospital when my daughter wakes up from her nap. I'm also going to tell Chris to give the doctor my number to call if they need to. If i take my daughter with me without a nap all day, there will be major problems. I don't really don't want my friend that's going to drive with me to watch my daughter because i'm not comfortable with it. She's a good friend but It makes me uneasy to leave Sophie with her. Chris is definately not going to tell anyone unless it's serious. His family lives in Canada and my family is 5 driving hours away. You're right though....it doesn't matter how it happens, the thing that matters is that he's getting it taken care of and it's not like i'm leaving him at the hospital all night. I'll take care of him when he's home like I do anyways. ;-)
Sounds good. Please make sure to keep us informed on how he is doing. Wishing you the best...
My only concern is not telling anyone even if everything is okay. It's important especially for the family to know as maybe it would make them more aware of how dangerous skin cancer can be. My thought is that it can be hereditary (sp?). If by telling family it might prevent someone else from having to go through this. Totally your decision thou.
As for Sophie, mothers instincts are usually right and if you don't feel comfortable leaving her with your friend please don't....
Again, good luck and keep in touch.
Suzi0 -
ooops sorry about the twocubsgirl21 said:Chris doesn't have his lab
Chris doesn't have his lab results from when he had his mole removed. I told him to call his doctor and have them mailed here. Chris has been put to sleep before when he had his wisdom teeth removed and he had no bad reactions or nausea. If it were me, I do get nausea from whatever they give you to put you to sleep. When I woke up after I had my wisdom teeth removed, I threw up. ;-(
Yeah I think i'm going to stay home and just drive to the hospital when my daughter wakes up from her nap. I'm also going to tell Chris to give the doctor my number to call if they need to. If i take my daughter with me without a nap all day, there will be major problems. I don't really don't want my friend that's going to drive with me to watch my daughter because i'm not comfortable with it. She's a good friend but It makes me uneasy to leave Sophie with her. Chris is definately not going to tell anyone unless it's serious. His family lives in Canada and my family is 5 driving hours away. You're right though....it doesn't matter how it happens, the thing that matters is that he's getting it taken care of and it's not like i'm leaving him at the hospital all night. I'll take care of him when he's home like I do anyways. ;-)
ooops sorry about the two replies there. Chris just called me and said he just talked to the hospital and he said asked more about the melanoma he has and it's called insightu (sp) melanoma, which means it's on the surface i guess. Also, he's not going to get knocked out just a local anestestia (sp). After that, they'll go from there and make sure they got all the cancer out. I asked him if they said anything about a 2, if it's level 2 and he doesn't know. He's the worst at getting information. ;-( They told him that he can't do any physical work for a while since there will be stitches in his chest. So that's all the info i have now. I've been praying every night about him so i hope that help.0 -
I think he will tell peopleShines said:Chris doesn't have his lab.
Sounds good. Please make sure to keep us informed on how he is doing. Wishing you the best...
My only concern is not telling anyone even if everything is okay. It's important especially for the family to know as maybe it would make them more aware of how dangerous skin cancer can be. My thought is that it can be hereditary (sp?). If by telling family it might prevent someone else from having to go through this. Totally your decision thou.
As for Sophie, mothers instincts are usually right and if you don't feel comfortable leaving her with your friend please don't....
Again, good luck and keep in touch.
Suzi
I think he will tell people after this is over. From his family history, there's no one he knows that had skin cancer. Chris is a golfer and in the five years i've known him, he's had some bad sun burns. I always tell him to use sun screen and he just shrugs it off. He knows now to check himself for any changes and i'm doing the same. I usually stay out of the sun all together because i burn easily and i'm naturally white as a ghost. I will definately keep you guys updated with what's going on. It's good to write this all out because I have no one else to talk to about this. Chris doesn't like talking about it at all. ;-(0 -
so if Chris heard them right......cubsgirl21 said:ooops sorry about the two
ooops sorry about the two replies there. Chris just called me and said he just talked to the hospital and he said asked more about the melanoma he has and it's called insightu (sp) melanoma, which means it's on the surface i guess. Also, he's not going to get knocked out just a local anestestia (sp). After that, they'll go from there and make sure they got all the cancer out. I asked him if they said anything about a 2, if it's level 2 and he doesn't know. He's the worst at getting information. ;-( They told him that he can't do any physical work for a while since there will be stitches in his chest. So that's all the info i have now. I've been praying every night about him so i hope that help.
He owes you a great night out and a huge apology for worrying you so much! He may have heard a Clarks Level 2 at some time, which is different from the staging but I would doubt that this would go along with a in situ Melanoma.
"The tumor is confined to epidermis and has not entered the dermis, a deeper layer of the skin. This stage of melanoma is also called Melanoma in situ. The tumor and some surrounding tissue are removed surgically. Usually no further treatment is necessary; however, continued skin examination to evaluate for a new melanoma or other skin cancer will continue."
Mary0
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