Skin cancer
posted by rosegarden
03 November 2011

dads melanoma

Last reply: 27 April 2014 17:54

not having a great day. we are are still waiting to see if my dads surgery can be brought forward. no luck yet. i thought i was coping well, but burst out crying at work today, i was not even thinking of my dad at the time! trying to get on with life as normal as possible, kids activitys, work . trying to keep my mother together, keep her thinking positive. i dont know what happened to me today. i just feel so uselees. this is something i can not make better. cant upset my mam by telling her this. must keep on the brave face, he will be fine etc, but inside i am scared . i am heartbroken this has happened to my lovely dad. i will keep hoping this will have a good out come

46 comments

Comments

commented by rob
04 November 2011

04 November 2011 12:53

hi rose garden.the first thing i would do is get a copy of your dads pathology report.the main things listed on it will be the type of melanoma he has .the breslow measurment in mm. this refers to the thickness of the mole (tumour)when it was removed .clarkes level, refers to how deep the mole has penetrated into his skin.it will also state if the tumour was ulcerated or not ulcerated when it was removed.it should also have a primary stage for the tumour. you mentioned your dads was 4mmthick so he is falls in the t3 range of primary tumour t3a if not ulcerated t3b if ulcerated.important to note his actual stage will be determined by his next surrgery path report.its likey his next surgery will be sentinel lymph node biopsy and wide excision, both should be done during one visit to the operation theater.it very important that he does not have a wide excision before slnb because if he does the lymphactis around the mole site will be disrupted, slnb is a test to see if any cells have broken away from the site of his mole tumour and traveled to his lymph nodes, probably in your dads case the nodes under one of his arms.they inject a radio active tracer and a blue dye at the site of the mole (tumour)and the theory is they flow through the lymph system find the first or sentinel node, hence the need for the lymhactics at the mole site to be as in tact as posible when they inject the tracer and dye. they take it out do pahtology on it to see if it contains any cancer cells.google royal college of surgeons in ireland guide lines for melanoma its a great source of info it will help you understand the path report.if your dad has the slnb done and it comes back clear he will probably be seen by the doctors every 3months for 3years twice a year for the next 2 and the full all clear after that. post again if you need clarifiacation on any points i have raised.and dont be afraid to ask for his pathology reports you dad is legally entitled to copys of his medical records.your gp can assist you in this. peace to you and yours , rob

commented by rosegarden
06 November 2011

06 November 2011 16:36

dear rob. thank you so much for your replies. i was starting to feel very alone! your info was really helpfull. my dad got the date brought forward to 17th nov. it gives me great hope that your daughter is doing so well.please god things will go well for my dad. at least now i know more about it thanks to you! i will put up a post after his op . the surgern is jason kelly in south infermary. i heard of the guy your daughter had. he is sopposed to be the main guy in this form of cancer. i dont know anything about kelly. thank you again for getting in touch.

commented by rosegarden
06 November 2011

06 November 2011 16:40

ps ,is t3 stage primary cancer bad?

commented by rob
06 November 2011

06 November 2011 20:42

hi rosegarden. great news that your dads surgery has been brought forward. i googled your dads surgeon his cv/profile looks good.the primary stageing of melanoma is really the way that the doctors determine how they will proceed with treatment. usually all patients with breslow depths over 1mm are given sentinel lymph node biopsy.have a look at the royal college of surgeons guidelines for melanoma for more information.it certainly looks like your dad is in good hands at the south infirmary.did he get his biopsy that confirmed the diagnoses done there.peace to you and yours rob

commented by Irish Cancer Society
11 November 2011

11 November 2011 15:13

Hi rosegarden,

We are sorry to hear how anxious a time it is for you and your family. If you would like to speak to a cancer nurse in confidence to discuss this further you can do this by phoning our National Cancer Helpline at 1800 200 700 (Mon-Thurs 9-7 and Fridays 9-5).

commented by rosegarden
11 November 2011

11 November 2011 18:16

hi Rob. thank you for taking an interest in whats happening with my dad. your advice is really great, since you have been through it. he is having the op next thursday , we are keeping our fingers crossed. will let you know.

commented by rob
15 November 2011

15 November 2011 20:27

Hi rosegarden.Best wishes to your dad, to you, and all your family. ill be thinking of ye on thursday.Peace to you and yours rob.

commented by rosegarden
18 November 2011

18 November 2011 19:36

Dear Rob. My father had his surgery yesterday. He said it did not take long. He remembers looking at the clock at twenty to 3 and woke up about ten to 4. He has quiet a long bandage down his right side , and under his arm you can see where they went in.The doctor, not kelly, came around this morning and told him they were happy the way the surgery went. He has an appointment on tuesday in south infermary with Dr Kelly. thats all we know at this point. He was told the results will be back in 10 days, but i am hopeing that he will be giving some information on tuesday. I will be in touch, thanks for the goodwishes.

commented by rosegarden
18 November 2011

18 November 2011 19:36

Dear Rob. My father had his surgery yesterday. He said it did not take long. He remembers looking at the clock at twenty to 3 and woke up about ten to 4. He has quiet a long bandage down his right side , and under his arm you can see where they went in.The doctor, not kelly, came around this morning and told him they were happy the way the surgery went. He has an appointment on tuesday in south infermary with Dr Kelly. thats all we know at this point. He was told the results will be back in 10 days, but i am hopeing that he will be giving some information on tuesday. I will be in touch, thanks for the goodwishes.

commented by rob
20 November 2011

20 November 2011 19:21

Hi rosegarden . Its great that the surgery is done ,im glad it went well for him.please god everthing will be ok . Ill keep a look out for you posts .peace to you and yours rob

commented by rob
20 November 2011

20 November 2011 19:21

Hi rosegarden . Its great that the surgery is done ,im glad it went well for him.please god everthing will be ok . Ill keep a look out for you posts .peace to you and yours rob

commented by rob
20 November 2011

20 November 2011 19:21

Hi rosegarden . Its great that the surgery is done ,im glad it went well for him.please god everthing will be ok . Ill keep a look out for you posts .peace to you and yours rob

commented by rosegarden
25 November 2011

25 November 2011 23:46

hi Rob. my father saw a doctor on j. Kellys team on tuesday. they just took off the dressing and said they were happy with everything.he has an appointment for 13th of dec to see kelly. we will get results then. fingers crossed. its just all the waiting! i am sure you know exactly what i mean. will be in touch.

commented by rob
26 November 2011

26 November 2011 17:01

hi rosegarden.yes i know what you mean about the wait for the results.its great to hear he,s recovering well from the operation.my wife told me to send ye her best wishes.peace to you and yours.rob

commented by rosegarden
06 December 2011

06 December 2011 12:39

hi Rob. we are getting nervous because dads appointment is getting near. he is going in on the 13th . we pray and hope it will be good news. we had put it to the back of our minds all along. getting ready for xmas etc, it has been a great distraction! but now the nerves are coming back. talk soon.

commented by rosegarden
06 December 2011

06 December 2011 12:39

hi Rob. we are getting nervous because dads appointment is getting near. he is going in on the 13th . we pray and hope it will be good news. we had put it to the back of our minds all along. getting ready for xmas etc, it has been a great distraction! but now the nerves are coming back. talk soon.

commented by rob
12 December 2011

12 December 2011 10:44

hi rosegarden.we did the same thing although its hard to keep it to the back of your mind ,ill be thinking of ye tomorrow.peace to you and yours rob.

commented by rosegarden
13 December 2011

13 December 2011 18:34

hi Rob. my dad got the results and it is not good news, it has gone in to the nodes.my poor parents are devastated, i dont know what to feel, numb mostly. they took out two nodes one was positive. he is going for more surgery in january. they asked no questions, so i have no idea what all this means. hope you are all well.

commented by rob
14 December 2011

14 December 2011 09:25

hi rosegarden.im very sorry to hear that, i was really hopeing that his sentinal lymph node biopsy would be clear.the next operation they will do will be to remove the remaing lymph nodes left under his arm. this is a bigger operation than the sentinal lymph node biopsy and he ll probabley have a longer stay in hospital this time.the reason for this operation is to still effect a surgical cure.the fact that it was found in one node and not the other is a positive for you dad. the odds are still in his favour.theres a good video on youtube, use the search term jay allen melanoma. your dads treatment is following the same path as jays, jay also had a positive node and when they went back in and removed the remaining nodes he got the all clear,his treatment from start to finish is on it.ill talk to you soon. peace to you and yours rob

commented by rosegarden
23 December 2011

23 December 2011 23:12

hi Rob. my father had a scan and got the appointment for the next surgery, Jan 4th. he was told,like you said it is a bigger op. they go in deeper, wider and also like you said, he will stay in for about 10 days. i will look up that piece you told me about about Jay, it sounds interesting. thank you for that. Rob, iwant to wish you and your wife and family a very happy christmas and new year! thank you for your support , we remain positive. take care bye for now!

commented by rob
24 December 2011

24 December 2011 15:22

hi rosegarden.its great to hear that there treating your dad so early in the new year .i wish ye all a happy christmas and a peaceful new year.peace to you and yours rob.

commented by rosegarden
27 December 2011

27 December 2011 14:20

hi Rob, my dad cooked christmas dinner like he always did! would not hear of having it any other way. i am taking it as a positive sign that he feels so well! will let you know how the op goes. take care.

commented by rob
31 December 2011

31 December 2011 14:26

hi rosegarden. great to hear your dads in good form,best wishes to ye for next week. peace to you and yours . rob

commented by rosegarden
07 January 2012

07 January 2012 11:15

Hi Rob, dads op was on the 5th. the Doctors came around the following morning and told him they are very pleased with the way the op went! the scan he had 2 weeks ago came back clear! they said everything went to plan. we are over the moon. I know we still have to get results from what ever they sent off, but i am taking this as a very good sign! He is recovring well in hospital and staying very positive and in good form. Are we right to feel positive? whats the next step? thanks for everything Rob, talk soon.

commented by rob
07 January 2012

07 January 2012 17:26

hi rosegarden. thats good news that the op went well.the scan being clear is a very positive sign.and yes ye are right to be positive,as i said the reason for the op is to cure you dad so even if some of the other nodes have cells in them they are gone now.he will be watched closely with appointments every 2 to 3 months .he may be offered drug therapy that is designed i think to primarly boost the immune system.from what iv read the chances are lower rather than higher that more nodes are involved, especially since cells were found in only 1 of the 2 nodes taken in the sentinel lymph node biopsy.did they give ye any idea when the results will be back.il talk to you soon. peace to you and yours rob .

commented by rosegarden
11 January 2012

11 January 2012 11:17

hi Rob,my dad continues to do well in hospital.he has two tubes draining fluid from him. Doctor Kelly still is happy with how everything is going.noone has said when the results will be back, we persume like the other times it could take two or three weeks. I will be in touch. bye for now, Susan.

commented by rosegarden
16 January 2012

16 January 2012 19:13

hi Rob, my father came home from hospital today, at last! he is very tired but well. he just has to take it easy, which is difficult for him. he has to go in Tuesday to check the dressings. We all have to settle back in to some kind of normality.been in the hospital every day for hours can take its toll. it was of course harder on my dad. no results yet, we are getting used to this waiting! please god all will be fine. bye for now , talk soon.

commented by rob
18 January 2012

18 January 2012 12:41

hi rosegarden thats great news that your dads home,hopefully now everything will turn out well.i know exactly what you mean about spending a lot of time in hospitals and waiting for results. i always find a good walk with the dog is good for the stress .ill talk to you soon ,peace to you and yours.rob

commented by rosegarden
25 January 2012

25 January 2012 09:51

Hi Rob. My father went in to see the doctor yesterday to get the dressings removed. he was very pleased. He said they took out 28 lymph nodes and they were all clear! Image removed. we are so so happy and relieved. we are aware this could have gone anyway. I persume that that means he has the all clear. My parent are no good at asking questions, and wanted to go by themselves. He has to go back next week again to see Dr Kelly, he only ran in briefly yesterday to tell them that news. Thank you Rob for your endless support and advice. you kept me sane through all of this. i learnt more from you than any book or website. I will continue to keep you informed. again, thank you! talk soon.

commented by rob
25 January 2012

25 January 2012 21:45

hi rosegarden ,thats great news im over the moon for ye,yes i think it does mean he,s got the all clear.its great to get the good news after all the worry .im so happy for you ill talk to you soon.peace to you and yours rob.

commented by rosegarden
04 February 2012

04 February 2012 16:59

hi Rob. all is going well with my dad he is recovering very well. he went back to kelly who confirmed that everything is clear! he has to back in 6 weeks and every few months after that. he did get a few days where he was in a dip, which my mother could not understand.she felt why is he feeling down when he has got asecond chance, but i understand it completely. i think it just hit , what could have been. i think i felt the same. we were getting on with it, taking kids to school, cooking , working and then its over. you look back and cant believe what we have been through . what has happened and how easy it could could have gone the other way. so i think thats how it was for my dad. he is good again now, back to his own self. we can look forward again now. talk to again rob, take care. rosegarden

commented by rob
06 February 2012

06 February 2012 19:57

Hi rosegarden.thats great news , im so happy for ye .yes i think your right as to the cause of his dip in form.glad to hear it did ent last to long.il talk to you soon .peace to you and yours rob

commented by carly3
14 February 2012

14 February 2012 17:15

Hi there, I logged onto this site last week after a year to see if there was any melanoma forums . I am a 39 year old mother of 3 who was diagnosed with malignant melanoma in December 2010. I attended the South Infirmary and had my surgery under Dr. Kelly as well. I too had 2 lymph nodes positive and had a complete clearance on my left side last February. I have 3 monthly checks between my oncologist and dermatologist . I had a PET SCAN in July 2011 all clear . I am fit and healthy and had another CT scan in January. I received a call today to inform me there is a lesion on my liver. I am having a ultrasound tmw and results after dinner. I try to hope it will be a simple cyst but am prepared for other news. It is 1 week to the year since I was discharged from hospital and it feels like a kick in the gut. I hope I can return with good news but no matter what I am strong and positive and will not be beaten.

commented by rob
15 February 2012

15 February 2012 21:47

hi carly .i hope everything went well for you today.peace to you and yours rob.

commented by carly3
16 February 2012

16 February 2012 10:51

Thanks rob , good news 2 benign tumours. The stress of the last few days has been incredible Image removed.

commented by rob
16 February 2012

16 February 2012 20:47

thats great news carly im glad things turned out good for you.peace to you and yours rob.

commented by rosegarden
17 February 2012

17 February 2012 23:26

hi carly, so glad you got good news! i understand the stress and fear so well. thank god its fine. rosegarden.

commented by rosegarden
20 February 2012

20 February 2012 09:35

hi rob, my dad continues to recover. his arm is still sore and stiff but he is getting back to everything bit by bit. hope you are well, and all is well with your family.

commented by rob
25 February 2012

25 February 2012 17:38

Hi Rosegarden.great news that hes doing so well.we are all in good form thanks.peace to you and yours rob

commented by rosegarden
21 April 2012

21 April 2012 23:17

hi rob, i hope you are well. everything is well with us. my dad continues to do great. he will have visits with the hospital every so often. i looked back at some of my earlier posts and remembered how awful the whole thing was, and how helpful you were. i still think of your kindness and wont forget, thank you.

commented by rob
27 April 2012

27 April 2012 20:11

hi rosegarden.great to hear from you, im so glad that things are settling down for your family and that your dad is doing so well.peace to you and yours rob.

commented by rosegarden
26 October 2012

26 October 2012 22:19

hi rob, it has been so long since i posted! i hope you and your family are well. i just thought i would let you know my father continues to do well! it was a year on oct 18th that he got diagnosed, so we are all so happy and relieved. he is back doing all he loved. we certainly do not take life for granted and relise how short it is really. i see you continue to talk and support other people! you are truly great. i dont know what i would have done without your support durning those awful months. i will post again, bye for now, rosegarden.

commented by rob
03 November 2012

03 November 2012 14:27

hi rosebank ,thats great news im glad things are working out so well for ye,things are good here,sorry for not replying sooner.peace to you and yours rob

commented by Redscorpio
11 March 2014

11 March 2014 23:29

As I was recently diagnosed with melanoma, I just want to thank you both, I've been worrying about my diagnosis as I knew nothing about melanoma, but after reading through your posts I feel a weight has been lifted off me. I've had my wide excision 2weeks ago and hoping that I won't require further treatment. I'm healing well and even though I won't have my results for another two weeks, I feel I will sleep better after reading your posts. Please feel free to reply if you have any advice for me. Image removed.
Redscorpio x

commented by rosegarden
22 April 2014

22 April 2014 18:29

dear redscorpio, I just read your post. I know what you and your family are going through! I hope all is going well foe you. my father continues to do well. he still goes back for check ups . I wish you well on your journey. I will be thinking of you. Rosegarden.

commented by rob
27 April 2014

27 April 2014 17:54

hi red hope you are well,my daughter is doing well.drop a line in here any time and ill reply to you.glad to hear rosegardens dad is doing well.peace to you and yours rob.

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