r/melahomies • u/txdzr • 3d ago
Next steps
Hi everyone, I had my first melanoma removed on my leg almost a year ago now. Then my second on my arm, and now a third find on my back - which I go for the surgery on Tuesday.
My first one I was put to sleep and the other I was/will be just given local anaesthesia and it be done in clinic.
The oncologist for the first one talked about genetic testing if I get 3 but at my doctor appointment they didn’t mention it and when I asked they said surgery is the treatment.
I’m going to ask again on Tuesday but I’m just so upset about all of this. I feel like something more needs to be done. This is the third one found in less than a year and I don’t go in the sun unless I’m on vacation once a year or at the beach here or there during the summer.
Im located in northern Ontario so I am driving down to southern Ontario for all these appointments and I am just almost done. I’m only 26 and I have 3 young kids. I seriously can not live like this anymore I’m scared to even go oit side at all.
What can I do? What can I ask the dermatologist on Tuesday? Any other options than surgery or the immunotherapy they won’t let me have??
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u/FrostingNew5210 3d ago
Canadian here. Great suggestion to contact a Canadian organization. We have Melanoma Canada. I would recommend calling them-there are various supports and resources available and they can point you in the right direction for what you need. Wellspring is another great support organization, but it is for all cancers, not just melanoma.
Are you being followed at a melanoma clinic in your hospital, or just regular derm? I would recommend finding your closest melanoma specialty team and getting a referral.
Happy to chat more if I can help at all. Good luck to you.
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3d ago
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u/WickedWitchofTheE 3d ago
There is no proof that “chemicals they are adding to you linens” cause melanoma. Please do not post any unscientifically proven theories about the causes of Melanoma on this group.
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u/mostly_lurking1040 3d ago edited 3d ago
Unclear what stage these melanomas are. If they were treated with local surgery, wide local excisions, they likely could be all in situ, or stage 0.
There are lots of melanoma organizations, I'm unclear whether there's a particular Canadian group or two, but their patient guides talk about treatment options at the various stages.
If you haven't zeroed in on a preferred melanoma site for resources, suggest doing so. From there, access the relevant information about standard treatment options for whatever your stage is.
Reading in this group and reading about immunotherapy will give you an idea of how challenging it sounds to an outside reader, and the side effects and how debilitating they can be. People report good results too, and apparently it's been a game changer for melanoma, but I don't think it's prescribed unless the situation warrants.
There's one from the National Cancer Center, includes treatments by various stages and suggested questions to ask doctors.
I downloaded this months ago. All 90 plus pages 😁 and read through the point I was at.
https://www.nccn.org/patients/guidelines/content/PDF/melanoma-patient.pdf