ocelot

Hello everyone,

I just thought I'd close the loop here – fiancee had WLE and SLNB surgery three weeks ago and we got the results of the biopsies yesterday – all benign, no signs that cancer had spread to lymph nodes, and excision margins all clear. So that was the best possible news. NED, no treatment necessary, just a few years of six-month checkups with dermatologist. I can't overstate how relieved we are. I learned a lot from reading this forum during the last couple of months of anxiety, and I wish everyone here all the best in their own journeys.

Hello everyone,

I just thought I'd close the loop here – fiancee had WLE and SLNB surgery three weeks ago and we got the results of the biopsies yesterday – all benign, no signs that cancer had spread to lymph nodes, and excision margins all clear. So that was the best possible news. NED, no treatment necessary, just a few years of six-month checkups with dermatologist. I can't overstate how relieved we are. I learned a lot from reading this forum during the last couple of months of anxiety, and I wish everyone here all the best in their own journeys.

Hello everyone,

I just thought I'd close the loop here – fiancee had WLE and SLNB surgery three weeks ago and we got the results of the biopsies yesterday – all benign, no signs that cancer had spread to lymph nodes, and excision margins all clear. So that was the best possible news. NED, no treatment necessary, just a few years of six-month checkups with dermatologist. I can't overstate how relieved we are. I learned a lot from reading this forum during the last couple of months of anxiety, and I wish everyone here all the best in their own journeys.

Hello Samuel, we're in Alberta and quite new to this, so don't know what the standards of care are. From reading on this site and others, it sounds like the sorts of scans are not useful for staging purposes, and are mainly used to monitor patients in stages 3 and 4 after the existence of metastatic disease has already been established through other means. 

Kim K – thanks for the info. The massive amounts of radiation in a PET scan are not something we'd like to incur unless there's a strong probability of a benefit, and it sounds like there probably isn't, at this point. 

it it sounds like following the SNB, either a) it's negative, in which case we are very relieved and go back to careful self-monitoring and follow-up; or b) it's positive, in which case we're looking at more lymph business surgery to remove the rest of the nodes, and possibly adjuvant therapy, of which interferon seems to be the most common – then back to more watching and waiting to see if symptoms show up anywhere else in the body. Does that sound more or less right? 

Hello Samuel, we're in Alberta and quite new to this, so don't know what the standards of care are. From reading on this site and others, it sounds like the sorts of scans are not useful for staging purposes, and are mainly used to monitor patients in stages 3 and 4 after the existence of metastatic disease has already been established through other means. 

Kim K – thanks for the info. The massive amounts of radiation in a PET scan are not something we'd like to incur unless there's a strong probability of a benefit, and it sounds like there probably isn't, at this point. 

it it sounds like following the SNB, either a) it's negative, in which case we are very relieved and go back to careful self-monitoring and follow-up; or b) it's positive, in which case we're looking at more lymph business surgery to remove the rest of the nodes, and possibly adjuvant therapy, of which interferon seems to be the most common – then back to more watching and waiting to see if symptoms show up anywhere else in the body. Does that sound more or less right? 

Hello Samuel, we're in Alberta and quite new to this, so don't know what the standards of care are. From reading on this site and others, it sounds like the sorts of scans are not useful for staging purposes, and are mainly used to monitor patients in stages 3 and 4 after the existence of metastatic disease has already been established through other means. 

Kim K – thanks for the info. The massive amounts of radiation in a PET scan are not something we'd like to incur unless there's a strong probability of a benefit, and it sounds like there probably isn't, at this point. 

it it sounds like following the SNB, either a) it's negative, in which case we are very relieved and go back to careful self-monitoring and follow-up; or b) it's positive, in which case we're looking at more lymph business surgery to remove the rest of the nodes, and possibly adjuvant therapy, of which interferon seems to be the most common – then back to more watching and waiting to see if symptoms show up anywhere else in the body. Does that sound more or less right? 

Many thanks for these kind replies. It's good to see that other people who have been down this road have a similar reading of the situation, because we're completely new to this. Also good advice about keeping a file with copies of all reports, for getting rapid information in consults with specialists. (He's an engineer, so being orderly and methodical is hardwired into the brain!). We will wait to see what the biopsy shows, hoping for the best. I welcome any more advice or experiences anyone wants to share, and I'm sure I will be back with more newbie questions. 

Many thanks for these kind replies. It's good to see that other people who have been down this road have a similar reading of the situation, because we're completely new to this. Also good advice about keeping a file with copies of all reports, for getting rapid information in consults with specialists. (He's an engineer, so being orderly and methodical is hardwired into the brain!). We will wait to see what the biopsy shows, hoping for the best. I welcome any more advice or experiences anyone wants to share, and I'm sure I will be back with more newbie questions. 

Many thanks for these kind replies. It's good to see that other people who have been down this road have a similar reading of the situation, because we're completely new to this. Also good advice about keeping a file with copies of all reports, for getting rapid information in consults with specialists. (He's an engineer, so being orderly and methodical is hardwired into the brain!). We will wait to see what the biopsy shows, hoping for the best. I welcome any more advice or experiences anyone wants to share, and I'm sure I will be back with more newbie questions.