After my initial treatment for Stage IIA Acral Lentiginous Melanoma, I had check ups every 3 months for the first 3 years, then every 6 months for the rest of my life. At all of these visits, my doctor has checked my lymph nodes by palpating and feeling for swelling. They also looked me over very thoroughly and ask if I have noticed anything new pop up.
For patients with Stage IIA like us, they will not perform any scans or radiographic studies proactively, such as CT or PET scans. Doctors generally will not order those kind of tests for you routinely. However, if you ever present with suspicions symptoms, they will authorize them for you. In my case, I actually began having a persistent headache a couple of years after my initial treatment, which lasted more than a month. At my next 3-month appointment, I told them about it and they ordered a CT scan of my brain. Thankfully the results were negative…meaning they found everything to be normal. The final diagnosis was that my eyesight was slipping (due to normal aging) and I needed to get prescription eye glasses. The headaches were believed to be due to eye fatigue.
I am now 8 years NED. I hope this helps give you some peace of mind.
Take care,
Mark 2A
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