| Author |
|
corvetteguy
Regular
Joined: 25 Jun 2008
Posts: 15
Location: Oregon
|
 Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 11:00 pm Post subject: Re: Ghost Melanoma/ 6 cycles IL2 |
 |
|
| We will keep good thoughts Tony!!!! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
erickclaytor
New User
Joined: 04 Apr 2008
Posts: 9
Location: Troutdale, OR
|
| Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 4:47 pm Post subject: Mark & Tony |
|
|
I hope that you guys are having a great Saturday.
MARK:
That is interestin to hear about the ghost melanoma... I have never heard of it before. I was thinking that it was a satellite melanoma? That is great news to hear about your June 3rd check up... you are right, we all must take life one day at a time. How long have you been dealing with melanoma?
TONY:
Are you experiencing any side effects from the Leukine Gm Csf? How did you discover your melanoma? I will be praying for you concerning your Aug. 12th scan... please keep us informed as to how you are doing.
Here is my story with melanoma:
In March of this year I noticed a mole on the upper portion of my left inner thigh that seemed to be getting a little bigger, but I was not completely sure. Considering that my father was diagnosed with melanoma a year earlier, I thought it would be prudent to have it looked at, so I decided to make an appointment with one of my dermatologists (I have two). When my doctor inspected it he said that it looked fine and did not seem to follow the ABCD's of melanoma. He told me to watch it and let him know if it gets any bigger. Needless to say, I left the doctor's office with a spring in my step and a sigh of relief that it was nothing or so I thought.
My divine intervention came about two weeks later. I am one of those people that takes great care of my hands... I get manicures, I exfoliate & moisturize, etc... so if something new showed up on my hands, I would notice it right away, this would not be the case anywhere else on my body considering that I have a lot of moles. One day when I was exfoliating I noticed a small black "dot" on the inner portion of my right index finger. This was something completely new and was not there the day before! This really caught my attention simply because it was black and new.
So, without hesitation I promptly made an appointment with my other dermatologist -- not the one I had seen two weeks earlier -- to have this new black dot looked at. I thought that while I was there I would have him inspect the mole on my leg... essentially getting a second opinion. When he inspected my concerns, he informed me that the only way to know for certain what they are is to have them biopsied and looked at by a pathologist. So, I said go ahead take them off, which he did. I was not offered this option by my first dermatologist.
I will be the first one to admit it, I really do not have a great deal of patience when it comes to medical issues... I like to have information immediately! I could not wait the whole week that I was told it would take for the results to come back. Later that same week I called my doctor to see if the pathology reports came back, and they did. The result from the black dot on my finger was nothing more than a new little freckle... I was so relieved because this was the one I was concerned about. However, the result from the mole on my thigh was not that promising... it was diagnosed as a spindle cell melanoma, which is a rare form of melanoma and accounts for only 4% of the melanoma's diagnosed. Furthermore, this form of melanoma is usually misdiagnosed because it does not follow the usual patterns of average melanoma.
The results gave me pause and I fluctuated between emotions, and it took a little while for the fact that I have cancer to sink in. Here I am 38 years old, married with a 13 month old son and now I have a disease that has the potential to take my life. Wow!!!! This diagnosis really put life into perspective.... the brevity & fragility of life now has center stage! Life is so precious and should not be taken for granted as we all know and for some reason or another we neglect... for we are here today and gone tomorrow. I never lashed out at God questioning, "why me?" To ask such a question is so inappropriate and self-centered (obviously), but the question, "why not me?" seemed more appropriate, but nevertheless difficult to understand. In life we never want to think that something like cancer or any other life threatening disease will find its way to our doorstep, but cancer is not a respecter of persons and should not be taken lightly. I long to have another baby and to grow old with my wife... to see my son grow up and to share in the joys of his life... these are the things that I hold so dear to my heart. My priorities are now in line... unfortunately it took melanoma to do it, but nevertheless, they are front and center!
I am very thankful to God for all the blessings he has bestowed on me in my life and for revealing this cancer to me in the way that he did... if he had not given me my "miracle freckle" I would have not gone into have the mole on my leg biopsied...this would have given the cancer a chance to grow and to eventually take my life. To see that his hand is upon me in this situation is comforting and the prayers and support of my friends and family is absolutely incredible! I could never thank everyone enough for their support.
Since my diagnosis I have started the process of having every mole removed from my body. My doctor said that the chances of it showing up in another mole is about 10 to 15 % , but it would more than likely appear as a new lesion. However, considering the fact that my melanoma came out of a pre-existing mole and that my chance of getting it again has increased... I am taking no chances.
Furthermore, to buttress my reason for removing every mole from my body came when I asked my dermatologist this question: If I had the mole that had the melanoma removed a year prior, would I have gotten cancer? His answer was... NO!!! Simply because the cancer came from within my mole.
I am very thankful to God that I have health insurance because it is very costly every time I go in to have 6 moles (that is how many he will biopsy at one time) biopsied.
I am keeping a positive attitude and most of all relying on God to see me through the valleys that come my way.
In His Service,
Erick |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
tonester
Experienced user
Joined: 03 Mar 2008
Posts: 83
|
| Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 12:28 am Post subject: Re: Ghost Melanoma/ 6 cycles IL2 |
|
|
Finding mine was by accident. Although in hindsite I should've had someone look at it sooner.
First time I noticed anything was wrong was in the summer. One day walking around barefoot I stepped on a small rock and it hurt for longer than it should've. After that it always felt like I had a pebble or something in my shoe. Irritating but nothing to write home about. Just dealt with it like any of the numerous aches and pains a person gets.
Following summer rolls around. Burned the top of the same left foot really bad with hot steam. So as I'm attending to the burn on the top of my foot I started poking around at the painful spot on the bottom of my foot. Looked just like any really thick callous. First tried to cut and grind away the callous but that was taking too long. Bought some Dr. Scholls callous remover and that worked revealing a reddish spot that looked like a blood blister.
Tried "popping" the blister with a needle but could not get it to go away. Pressure would build up and blood would squirt out but it wouldn't heal. Finally went to my family doctor and he treated it like any sore. When that didn't work he sent me to a Podiatrist. The Podiatrist treated it like a wound for a while also. Finally she did a punch biopsy and sent me to a surgical Oncologist.
For the next year it was a whirl wind of surgeries and tests, scans, biopsies, etc.
Which gets me to my current point. I've had a few weeks off and must admit I like feeling pretty close to normal. The only side effect from the Leukine so far has been fatigue. I take shots for 2 weeks then get 2 weeks off.
Tony
_________________
****Kick'n Cancers Arse Since April 2007****
You can check out "My Story" at the link below.
http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=9083 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
erickclaytor
New User
Joined: 04 Apr 2008
Posts: 9
Location: Troutdale, OR
|
| Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 6:05 am Post subject: TONY |
|
|
Tony,
Hello. Thank you for sharing your experience with me. What was the final results from the biopsy? How deep was it and what stage were you placed at?
In His Service,
Erick |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
tonester
Experienced user
Joined: 03 Mar 2008
Posts: 83
|
| Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 6:23 am Post subject: Re: Ghost Melanoma/ 6 cycles IL2 |
|
|
I'm stage IIIc.
The specifics of my "misadventure" are in a thread titled "My Story" in the forums.
Tony
_________________
****Kick'n Cancers Arse Since April 2007****
You can check out "My Story" at the link below.
http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=9083 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
brainman
Site Admin
Joined: 13 Oct 2005
Posts: 5617
Location: Tennessee
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
tonester
Experienced user
Joined: 03 Mar 2008
Posts: 83
|
| Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 3:53 pm Post subject: Re: Ghost Melanoma/ 6 cycles IL2 |
|
|
Cool, thanks Jim.
_________________
****Kick'n Cancers Arse Since April 2007****
You can check out "My Story" at the link below.
http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=9083 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
Search 
Email Digests
Register to post
Profile 
Check private messages 
Log in
What is this ?
We subscribe to the HONcode principles. Verify here. All content and posts are copyright.
