Sentinel Melanoma
Malignant melanoma on bottom of foot?
I had a melanoma removed (supposedly completely) which measured .8mm in depth. It began as a small mole on the instep of my right foot. Some 5 years ago(now in thirties), it grew darker and larger while the borders became irregular.
I denied myself treatment until last week when it was immediately removed. Is a melanoma with .8mm depth extremely dangerous?
I was referred to a “mohs” surgeon who wouldn’t even see me after looking at my case and biopsy results. He sent me to a premiere cancer center the next morning that ordered further tissue removal with skin grafts and sentinel lymph node biopsy. From the information I’ve read, a melanoma with depth less than 1mm can be safely removed without worry of spread to the lymph nodes.
So why is this oncologist surgeon so worried as to demand these procedures? Could they know something from the biopsy results that they’re not telling me?
Not to scare you, but malignant melanoma is very much a cancer that is known to metastize, or spread to different organs or tissues quite easily and rapidly. Even though your lesion was less than 1mm, your oncologist, pathologist, or doctor just wanted to make sure especially because you waited five years to receive any type of treatment (this is why that Mohs surgeon refused to operate on you). Having ANY type of skin cancer has a very high chance of NOT being able to cure 100%. In fact, you will probably have to go back in a few years for a similiar procedure. I believe it is because of the tissue invovled. Practically, skin is “damaged” microscopically or macroscopically every day and it has a high regeneration. This is why you may find yourself in the same predicament in a few years. Also, you said you found this malignant malanoma on the bottom of your foot. This is pretty rare. Usually most lesions are ones that have have been exposed to sunlight more often. I believe your surgeons (like I said before) are taking a precaution to make sure it has not metasitized. In their mind, they may have “thought” it had already metasize to the bottom of your foot and “just checking” the LN around it made sure that this was NOT the case. Just make sure, you are careful about ALL lesions, moles, etc. Follow the ABCs. A for area (more than a pencil eraser size is risky), B is border (irregular border shape is not a good sign either), and C is for color (having a mole that is dark on the inside and light on the outside, or vice-a versa, can be a cause for alarm.
|
|
Sentinel lymph node biopsy proves beneficial for some.(NEWS): An article from: Skin & Allergy News $9.95 This digital document is an article from Skin & Allergy News, published by International Medical News Group on June 1, 2009. The length of the article is 785 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation DetailsTitle: Sentinel lymph node biops… |
|
|
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy Has No Benefit for Patients with Primary Cutaneous Melanoma: An Assertion Based on Comprehensive, Critical Analysis $20.00 … |
|
|
Sentinel node biopsy may aid melanoma survival: for primary cutaneous melanoma, SLN biopsy appeared to be both predictive and therapeutic.(Dermatology): An article from: Internal Medicine News $5.95 This digital document is an article from Internal Medicine News, published by International Medical News Group on March 1, 2005. The length of the article is 565 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation D… |
