Comments on: What Happen After One Had A Minor Surgery To Cut Melanoma Out?

By: Kim B

Kim B — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 09:25:03 +0000

just wait until the docs contact her

By: Nurse Soozy

Nurse Soozy — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 09:10:17 +0000

melanoma can spread. If it is self contained, she may will probably be fine. But a PET scan to check for any spread might be good.

By: Orion

Orion — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 08:34:45 +0000

You’ve just answered your own question – nothing else surgical or medical needs to be done, if that’s what her doctors say. Your mum needs to stay out of the sun as much as possible in the future, avoid sunbeds at all costs and use a very high factor sunscreen. If she notices any swelling in her groins or armpits, or any other unusual lesions on her body she needs to go to the doctor as soon as possible.

By: Yara S

Yara S — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 08:22:19 +0000

You are not giving enough information to know. What kind of melanoma was it? How big was it? How far did it invade? How thick was it? Was it ulcerated? The answers to these questions are what determine treatment and prognosis. Typically the initial biopsy is done with close margins of just a few millimeters. This is to prevent problems with sentinel lymph node mapping. Later a second biopsy is done to be sure the margins are clear.

By: Denisedd

Denisedd — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 07:59:20 +0000

You might want to educate yourself (and your mom) on Melanoma. The links below include tools for determining the staging of Melanoma. In your description (margins are clear “so everything around and underneath it was tumorfree”) it sounds like she is stage I or II.
You might try to have her get the pathology report and have one of your doctors review it. You can also compare it at the sites before.
These sites also discuss the appropriate followup care. Take Care.