I have melanoma

[amcal]

I have skin cancer. A melanoma was just discovered on my arm. They say it's stage II. I have an appointment with the surgeon on Tuesday and am waiting for an oncologist appointment.

Any experience, ideas, thoughts etc... would be tremendously appreciated.

[LoisLane]

No advice -- but couldn't read without sending good wishes your way.

[Climbergirl]

My aunt had really advanced cancer (not sure the stage). It was a very aggressive melanoma on her upper arm. She had surgery and has been fine.

My grandfather had skin cancer on his forehead when I was about 8. They removed it and grafted tissue from the back of his ear to his forehead. He lived until I was 20.

I don't have personal experience, but I thought it would help to hear something positive

[MPsSweetie]

No advice but (((hugs))) and thoughts going your way.

[lindberg99]

My brother had one on his arm. He had surgery to remove it, they didn't have to do any skin grafts. I don't know what stage his was.

Good luck with the surgeon.

[Mountaingirl79]

I'm so sorry you have to go thru this!!

My best girl friend had melanoma when she was 28. She went thru treatment and is now clear of any and all disease. She's 35 now.

I know this is super scary. I was diagnosed with with CIN 3 / CIS 2 months ago and recently went thru a cone biopsy via the LEEP procedure. Not at all the same, I know but scary as well. My results came back with margins clear. I was very very worried and it was a nightmare. I say this in understanding, I guess.

You can beat this!

[Mountaingirl79]

PS. If you would like to talk to my bff about what she went through, from a first hand perspective, she is very very sweet and easy to talk to, and if you private message me your email, I will give you her email address as well. <3

[Amila]

I am so sorry you are going through this! I was worried I had melanoma a few months ago- it is super scary, but thank goodness you caught it and I am sure you will be just fine- surgery should take care of it, and you can just be super vigilent about skin checks every 6 months.

[fek&fuzz]

what did it look like? did you catch it yourself or was it at a dr. visit? do you have a picture?

[amcal]

Originally Posted by fek&fuzz

what did it look like? did you catch it yourself or was it at a dr. visit? do you have a picture?

This is the scary part. I had a smallish sort of pinkish area on my arm. Really, it didn't look like much anything. It was slightly raised but really, it was only a shade or two different from my normal skin tone. But, at one point, it got a tiny head on it and peeled a tiny bit. Really, it was nothing. But, I've had several moles removed - all came back fine - but my Dr told me if I ever found anything new that I was to report it to him. So, I just casually mentioned it. He looked at it, said it was nothing but, to be safe, he biopsied it and it came back stage II melanoma.

When he called me this morning, he sounded stunned. He said clinically, it really didn't appear to be anything. If I hadn't pointed it out to him, he never would have given it a second glance.

[sbgrace]

I'm so glad you found it!
My husband's friend had a very aggressive melanoma. I don't know the stage but it was the most aggressive type-nodular melanoma and I believe it had spread to a sentinel lymph node. Anyway, he did need chemo due to the spreading but he's doing really well several years out..no spreading to organs.

[JaneS]

I also know personally 2 people who are free and clear right now. However, one of them, my cousin in her 30's, got breast cancer 8 years later requiring both chemo and radiation.

I would take this opportunity to totally revise my diet and practice super nutrition
http://www.westonaprice.org/basics.html

Especially the oils there is some evidence that the highly unstable poly unsaturated fatty acids in vegetable fats (soy, corn, all restaurant fried foods subjected to high heat) are a cause of skin cancer
http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/index.html

[WuWei]

Will come back, but check about food Folate, not folic acid. And Black seed (nigella sativa) oil. And whole food probiotics (homemade kefir) for immune support. Google those and cancer and PubMed and you'll find info.


Pat

[A&A]

[mysticmomma]

I'll be praying for you Michelle. How scary.

[luminesce]

Originally Posted by amcal

This is the scary part. I had a smallish sort of pinkish area on my arm. Really, it didn't look like much anything. It was slightly raised but really, it was only a shade or two different from my normal skin tone. But, at one point, it got a tiny head on it and peeled a tiny bit. Really, it was nothing. But, I've had several moles removed - all came back fine - but my Dr told me if I ever found anything new that I was to report it to him. So, I just casually mentioned it. He looked at it, said it was nothing but, to be safe, he biopsied it and it came back stage II melanoma.

When he called me this morning, he sounded stunned. He said clinically, it really didn't appear to be anything. If I hadn't pointed it out to him, he never would have given it a second glance.

Just wanted to send you some positive thoughts; I know this has to be a scary time! I had a mole removed once out of fear of melanoma. It was huge and flat and multi-colored and had been slowly growing for a while. The PA stared at it forever; then the doc stared at it forever. They finally decided to remove the whole thing with a punch biopsy. The week wait was excruciating but it came back benign. Do you have a lot of moles? How long was this spot there?

[amcal]

Originally Posted by Mountaingirl79

PS. If you would like to talk to my bff about what she went through, from a first hand perspective, she is very very sweet and easy to talk to, and if you private message me your email, I will give you her email address as well. <3

PMing you. Thank you!

[5thAttempt]

I hope that everything turn out to be fine. Stage 2 is very curable. You are lucky to get it out just in time. Hugs.

I also had 4 pinkish spots removed last year, they all ended up being abnormal and Dr also never suspected anything bad. He even said that he will do biopsy just to calm me down. I did not had any treatment, just a surgery... it was just a beginning of malignancy, however I had those spots for quate a few years. How big was your spot? How long did you have it?

[amcal]

Originally Posted by 5thAttempt

How big was your spot? How long did you have it?

This is the most terrifying thing. It was small. Really, it was barely even there. It was sort of a freckle that was a shade or two pinker than my skin and it was just slightly raised - sort of a cross between a mole and a freckle.

It was there maybe a month or two? Really, it was so minor, I didn't really even notice it until a few weeks ago it developed a pin sized head and peeled a tiny bit. That was the extent of it. Then it went right back to slightly raised and slightly pink.

If this was so minor and is stage II melanoma, it terrifies me that I may have other similar spots on my body that have just gone ignored because they're not really noticeable.

[amcal]

Originally Posted by WuWei

Will come back, but check about food Folate, not folic acid. And Black seed (nigella sativa) oil. And whole food probiotics (homemade kefir) for immune support. Google those and cancer and PubMed and you'll find info.


Pat

Thank you! I'm researching now. The black seed oil - is that taken internally?