Confused About Diagnosis

beezmom · New User Joined: 31 Jul 2007 Posts: 2 Location: California

My sister in law recently had a large 3x3 inch square removed from her back that was diagnosed as stage 3 melanoma. They told her the surgery was clean around the edges and it was 0.6 whatever that means. Her MRI just came back showing a couple spots on her lung. Doc said it could be calcification. She goes for cat scan this week. What does all this mean?
Is 0.6 bad? Is it likely the lung thing is cancer? What will the cat scan prove? Its all so confusing and I don't want to push her for answers and upset her more then she already is. Is it likely the melanoma will occur again elsewhere?

Thanks, Deb

brainman · Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 6:21 am Post subject: Re: Confused About Diagnosis

Hi Deb, I am very sorry about your sister-in-law's diagnosis of melanoma. The best and most authoritative source of information is her medical team. With the limited information you can provide at this point, all most of us can give are educated guesses. Keeping that in mind, here are my guesses. I think the "0.6" refers to the depth of the cancer (0.6 mm) which is enough to extend it through the skin layers and into the fatty layer below the skin. That is the definition of a grade 3 melanoma.

As for the spots on her lungs... they can be anything including calcifications or metastasis of the melanoma. Only a biopsy of them can tell for sure. If they are mets of the melanoma, then expect the diagnosis to be upgraded to a grade 4 melanoma. I don't know how likely it is to occur in other places but there is that possibility. Therefore, her treatment will probably be an aggressive chemotherapy based treatment.

I will keep your sister in law and your family in my thoughts and my prayers.
_________________
Jim
Site Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendoglioma grade 3, same location.
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Blog http://jimhawkinsport.blogspot.com/

beezmom · New User Joined: 31 Jul 2007 Posts: 2 Location: California

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE INPUT. I WILL WAIT FOR THE OFFICIAL WORD FROM THE DOCS BUT IN THE MEANTIME THIS HAS HELPED ME GREATLY.
PRAYERS TO ALL WHO BATTLE THIS DISEASE.
DEBBIE

sodapop · Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 12:00 pm Post subject: Re: Confused About Diagnosis

Hi beezmom,

I am to battling this terrible disease and hope your sister in law the best.

How did the CT-Scan come back?

Keep us updated on her progress if you have time.

I will keep her in my prayers and tell her to always keep her faith in God, becuase he is the one who makes the final decision.

CYA,
_________________
Can miracles happen?

http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=7254

Sodapop--aka "the survivor"!

	Cancer Forums Forum Index -> Melanoma and Skin Cancer Forum	All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

A website for discussions about any type of cancer, including lung cancer, breast cancer, mesothelioma, prostate cancer, laryngeal cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and others