NED 2 yr follow Up

How deep was your primary?  I tried to look it up under your profile.

If yours was deep enough to warrant an SNB then you may wish to consider more than just bloodwork for follow up, like an annual chest x-ray.

By the time you see any abnormalities on blood work you probably would have found mets on your own unless striclty internal.

The reason being…..  I went 3.5 years with regular blood work and annual chest x-ray as part of the Sunbelt Melanoma trial.  My pirmary was 2.06 mm and I was a stage 2A, barely….

I moved home to Hawaii in 2006 and did no further follow up.

I happened to have a lower back x-ray for other reasons and they found a mass in my lung by accident.  I had no symptoms, blood work was normal as well as my lymph nodes.  A pet scan showed a second  very small met in my pectoral muscle.

Without that chest x-ray I would probably still have my lung tumor and be clueless as to when I became stage IV.  Melanoma can recur decades later, your doc should know that.

IMHO.

While you probably don't need the PET or CT, at least an annual chest x-ray since mel likes to spread there.  Additionally, with all the new drugs coming out, wouldn't you want to pick up a recurrance sooner rather than later?  Chest x-rays have minimal radiation compared to the other scans.  An incidental finding caught mine almost 4 years after my last clean x-ray, a total of 8  years after my tumor was removed.  My new doctor ripped me a new one for not continuing monitoring when I moved home.

When I told him what you just said, and that the current recommendations stated chest x-rays were "optional", he became upset with me, especially since I have a medical background.  "Melanoma is the most dangerous cancer to have because it lies in wait for decades".  He also has great expertise in melanoma.

Congratulations on NED and I truely hope you stay that way.  Just wondering if you wanted to reconsider the chest x-ray thing.  Yes the research says it isn't warranted and is why I didn't follow through.  Imagine if my lung met was in my upper lung instead of lower lung.  I may not be here.  Again I am an anomoly though.  2 years just seems so recent in the face of melanoma.  Knowing your tumor depth would shed better light on things, but if it needed an SNB…. FWIW.

Aloha

How deep was your primary?  I tried to look it up under your profile.

If yours was deep enough to warrant an SNB then you may wish to consider more than just bloodwork for follow up, like an annual chest x-ray.

By the time you see any abnormalities on blood work you probably would have found mets on your own unless striclty internal.

The reason being…..  I went 3.5 years with regular blood work and annual chest x-ray as part of the Sunbelt Melanoma trial.  My pirmary was 2.06 mm and I was a stage 2A, barely….

I moved home to Hawaii in 2006 and did no further follow up.

I happened to have a lower back x-ray for other reasons and they found a mass in my lung by accident.  I had no symptoms, blood work was normal as well as my lymph nodes.  A pet scan showed a second  very small met in my pectoral muscle.

Without that chest x-ray I would probably still have my lung tumor and be clueless as to when I became stage IV.  Melanoma can recur decades later, your doc should know that.

IMHO.

While you probably don't need the PET or CT, at least an annual chest x-ray since mel likes to spread there.  Additionally, with all the new drugs coming out, wouldn't you want to pick up a recurrance sooner rather than later?  Chest x-rays have minimal radiation compared to the other scans.  An incidental finding caught mine almost 4 years after my last clean x-ray, a total of 8  years after my tumor was removed.  My new doctor ripped me a new one for not continuing monitoring when I moved home.

When I told him what you just said, and that the current recommendations stated chest x-rays were "optional", he became upset with me, especially since I have a medical background.  "Melanoma is the most dangerous cancer to have because it lies in wait for decades".  He also has great expertise in melanoma.

Congratulations on NED and I truely hope you stay that way.  Just wondering if you wanted to reconsider the chest x-ray thing.  Yes the research says it isn't warranted and is why I didn't follow through.  Imagine if my lung met was in my upper lung instead of lower lung.  I may not be here.  Again I am an anomoly though.  2 years just seems so recent in the face of melanoma.  Knowing your tumor depth would shed better light on things, but if it needed an SNB…. FWIW.

Aloha

How deep was your primary?  I tried to look it up under your profile.

If yours was deep enough to warrant an SNB then you may wish to consider more than just bloodwork for follow up, like an annual chest x-ray.

By the time you see any abnormalities on blood work you probably would have found mets on your own unless striclty internal.

The reason being…..  I went 3.5 years with regular blood work and annual chest x-ray as part of the Sunbelt Melanoma trial.  My pirmary was 2.06 mm and I was a stage 2A, barely….

I moved home to Hawaii in 2006 and did no further follow up.

I happened to have a lower back x-ray for other reasons and they found a mass in my lung by accident.  I had no symptoms, blood work was normal as well as my lymph nodes.  A pet scan showed a second  very small met in my pectoral muscle.

Without that chest x-ray I would probably still have my lung tumor and be clueless as to when I became stage IV.  Melanoma can recur decades later, your doc should know that.

IMHO.

While you probably don't need the PET or CT, at least an annual chest x-ray since mel likes to spread there.  Additionally, with all the new drugs coming out, wouldn't you want to pick up a recurrance sooner rather than later?  Chest x-rays have minimal radiation compared to the other scans.  An incidental finding caught mine almost 4 years after my last clean x-ray, a total of 8  years after my tumor was removed.  My new doctor ripped me a new one for not continuing monitoring when I moved home.

When I told him what you just said, and that the current recommendations stated chest x-rays were "optional", he became upset with me, especially since I have a medical background.  "Melanoma is the most dangerous cancer to have because it lies in wait for decades".  He also has great expertise in melanoma.

Congratulations on NED and I truely hope you stay that way.  Just wondering if you wanted to reconsider the chest x-ray thing.  Yes the research says it isn't warranted and is why I didn't follow through.  Imagine if my lung met was in my upper lung instead of lower lung.  I may not be here.  Again I am an anomoly though.  2 years just seems so recent in the face of melanoma.  Knowing your tumor depth would shed better light on things, but if it needed an SNB…. FWIW.

Aloha

Josh that is great news but i tend to probably think like you.

I had a 1+mm tumor on my cheek and ear lobe. had wle and slb in Sept 2012 which was clear.

I have sufffered eye pain and migraines for about two years 9one of which was with undiagnosed tumor about 2 inches from my eye)

I have one onc who 6 months after surgery says blood work every 3 months and a dermatology appt ever 6 months should be fine. Is he nuts? Like someone said bloodwork isn't a precursor it is an after the fact thing.

I disagreed and went back to my original surgeon who is hours away and she said we will do blood work, x rays and  scans every 3 months…for atleast two years and go from there.

Josh that is great news but i tend to probably think like you.

I had a 1+mm tumor on my cheek and ear lobe. had wle and slb in Sept 2012 which was clear.

I have sufffered eye pain and migraines for about two years 9one of which was with undiagnosed tumor about 2 inches from my eye)

I have one onc who 6 months after surgery says blood work every 3 months and a dermatology appt ever 6 months should be fine. Is he nuts? Like someone said bloodwork isn't a precursor it is an after the fact thing.

I disagreed and went back to my original surgeon who is hours away and she said we will do blood work, x rays and  scans every 3 months…for atleast two years and go from there.

Josh that is great news but i tend to probably think like you.

I had a 1+mm tumor on my cheek and ear lobe. had wle and slb in Sept 2012 which was clear.

I have sufffered eye pain and migraines for about two years 9one of which was with undiagnosed tumor about 2 inches from my eye)

I have one onc who 6 months after surgery says blood work every 3 months and a dermatology appt ever 6 months should be fine. Is he nuts? Like someone said bloodwork isn't a precursor it is an after the fact thing.

I disagreed and went back to my original surgeon who is hours away and she said we will do blood work, x rays and  scans every 3 months…for atleast two years and go from there.

which doctor?  you're in chicago, right?

which doctor?  you're in chicago, right?

which doctor?  you're in chicago, right?