So....talk about.....CANCER SUPPORT THREAD !!

[Outpost JWB]

Can anyone tell me about Melanoma? My son who is 29 had a spot removed from his side last spring that he had for years, it turned out to be cancerous. Dermotologist removed it & considerable surrounding tissue, and felt confident that they got it all. Now he has had another spot removed on his leg. They are doing a biopsy. He has not said what the results are yet. We are very worried tho he has said the doctor does not seem to be. Hopefully this one is not cancerous. Is it possible for him to have one or two spots and never any more? If this one is cancerous what will the next step be? Both myself and my husband have a family history of cancer, although neither of us have had any except my husband had some Basal Cell Carcinoma removed. No one has had Melanoma. I had a spot removed several years ago that they thought was Melanoma, but it was not cancerous. I know Melanoma can be very dangerous but I have also read that it is pretty common among young adults, so I don't know what the stats are or anything. Has anyone had experience with this that they could share?

As a mother, I am sure you are worried sick. I am so sorry for that. I am going to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge. I am not a doctor.

It is possible for him to have one or two spots and then never have anymore.
If this one is cancerous, the next step will be treatment or removal. They may laser it, do MOHS surgery, or radiation therapy. This depends on what stage of cancer, doctor and patient decisions.
No one in my family had cancer either. I had basal cell carcenoma.
Whomever told you Melanoma is common was wrong. Melanoma is the rarest form or skin cancer. We hear about it more because it is the most dangerous type. In fact most people have not heard of the other types. The 3 main types are basal cell carcenoma , squamous cell carcenoma (both of which develop in the upper to middle layers of the epidermis) and melanoma which develops in the lowest layers of the epidermis. Therefore taking it longer to detect, and meaning it has spread before it has reached the top, so harder to treat.
@sumi had melanoma.
Your son needs to take caution from this day forward. He needs to see a good dermatologist regularly. If he has a spot/mole that changes in size, color, itches, he needs to get to the dr. He should go for full body check ups at least once a year or as recommended by dermatologist.
He needs to stay out of the sun. The sun is not his friend. Dusk and dawn are working outside times.
If he is in the sun, hats, sunscreen 30spf or higher always. I carry extras in my vehicle. Wear clothes that cover the skin. Tans are very overrated and cause extreme wrinkles.

Word of comfort, when I was at the Cincinnati Skin Cancer Center getting my surgery, a few of the nurses, plastic surgeons, whomever, asked me what type do you have? When I told them basal cell, they said "Oh! We will see you again then!" My dr said basal cell is easiest to treat, but most generally comes back. Melanoma is hard to treat, but doesn't usually come back. I will pray for your son that this spot is benign. And you, try to get some rest and not worry

 

[chicknmania]

Thank you so much that does help me feel a little better. He has a very positive attitude so I'm sure his doctors are being encouraging. He is in the Military and unfortunately when they have drill he is out in the sun most of the day, and for week long drill....well they are outside all the time. And next summer they are going out of country for a while... He does have strong sunblock provided by his doctor.

Thanks again for the informatiion and support.

 

[Outpost JWB]

Anytime. Please keep us posted.

 

[chicknmania]

I will, thank you!

 

[LittleLakePhil]

Hope everyone here is good tonight

 

[sumi]

Can anyone tell me about Melanoma? My son who is 29 had a spot removed from his side last spring that he had for years, it turned out to be cancerous. Dermotologist removed it & considerable surrounding tissue, and felt confident that they got it all. Now he has had another spot removed on his leg. They are doing a biopsy. He has not said what the results are yet. We are very worried tho he has said the doctor does not seem to be. Hopefully this one is not cancerous. Is it possible for him to have one or two spots and never any more? If this one is cancerous what will the next step be? Both myself and my husband have a family history of cancer, although neither of us have had any except my husband had some Basal Cell Carcinoma removed. No one has had Melanoma. I had a spot removed several years ago that they thought was Melanoma, but it was not cancerous. I know Melanoma can be very dangerous but I have also read that it is pretty common among young adults, so I don't know what the stats are or anything. Has anyone had experience with this that they could share?

@chicknmania I'm sorry to hear about your son's troubles. As @Outpost JWB said already, I've had it myself and had 2 more lesions removed for biopsy nearly 2 weeks ago. I'm waiting for the results now. Mine was at Stage 1 when they removed it, i.e. still very local, no spreading. I did have a lymph node biopsy done as well, to check, but that came back clear.

This last round was my 4th actually. The 3rd was a melanoma and we're hoping the last one will also be benign, like the first two. I joked with the doctors and said so far the odds have been in my favour, but we'll see… It's hard to say if there is going to be one or two or three ever. I guess it depends on the individual's history of sun damage, genetics, skin type, overall health, etc. There are certain things I've been told, lifestyle changes and foods that can help limit the risk of them returning, but the damage already done is really a roll of the dice.

The only comfort I can offer you is that they are VERY treatable when caught early enough, so if he keeps going for check-ups, have his whole body checked once or twice a year by a dermatologist and checks himself as well, he can have any new problem spots taken care of quick and with a simple surgery and no further treatments. On the other hand as you've seen with his last one, like mine, it was there for years and didn't spread, thankfully! So

 

[LittleLakePhil]

Sumi... We are waiting to hear good news from you......
I keep you... (and many other people from byc) in my prayers.

 

[chicknmania]

Sumi thank you so much, That is so encouraging and I can tell you have great spirit and that helps a lot. I am praying and hoping for the best for my son and you as well. I know a positive attitude is so
helpful. Years ago my Mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was around 70 years old at the time. They did surgery and she was very much saddened by the surgery, she never believed she had cancer. But because she didn't believe she had it, she didn't act like she had ever had it either.. and so .she made a full recovery and lived to be 90 with no further cancer. I always believed her attitude and spirit made all the difference. in her quick recovery....all she wanted was to keep on living her life the way she'd been used to living it. . And she did.

I was happy to hear my son mention to his sister the other day that he made himself a spinach salad for his dinner. I know he is being more conscious about his diet, and hopefully that will help too.

The best of luck to you and please keep us posted.

 

[sumi]

Sumi... We are waiting to hear good news from you......
I keep you... (and many other people from byc) in my prayers.

Thank you

I hope I will have good news for you in a month's time. Gosh, it's a horribly long time to wait… Plenty time for prayers though!

 

[sumi]

Sumi thank you so much, That is so encouraging and I can tell you have great spirit and that helps a lot. I am praying and hoping for the best for my son and you as well. I know a positive attitude is so
helpful. Years ago my Mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was around 70 years old at the time. They did surgery and she was very much saddened by the surgery, she never believed she had cancer. But because she didn't believe she had it, she didn't act like she had ever had it either.. and so .she made a full recovery and lived to be 90 with no further cancer. I always believed her attitude and spirit made all the difference. in her quick recovery....all she wanted was to keep on living her life the way she'd been used to living it. . And she did.

I was happy to hear my son mention to his sister the other day that he made himself a spinach salad for his dinner. I know he is being more conscious about his diet, and hopefully that will help too.

The best of luck to you and please keep us posted.

I'm glad I could help a bit. I've done a few rounds with this, before getting to this point where I decided to just stay positive about everything. I lost a dear aunt to cancer about 2 years ago. Hers started with breast cancer, came back and spread and ended up taking her. During all that she was so amazingly POSITIVE and cheerful and she made the most of the time left to her. Got herself a boyfriend with a bike and she was off with him, having fun until she couldn't any more… I'm smiling now, thinking about that. My mom was horrified by her behaviour! lol But I loved how she was so positive and cheerful in spite of everything and that inspires me.

I am also trying to do like your mom did and just continue living life and not let this disrupt things too much. It's not easy some days, when I first got diagnosed I was angry and upset, I remember saying to someone it felt like my body let me down, doing that. But they got it out and I got given a second chance and I switched to thinking "This could've killed me, 100 years ago this WOULD'VE killed me. But with today's modern medicines, science, surgeries etc, we can and will deal with this, so thank you for that."