Typical Steps in the Diagnosis of Melanoma

Found on www.melanoma.com

1. You find a suspicious mole or growth on your skin. You report it to your doctor.

2. The doctor refers you to a dermatologist, a skin specialist.

3. The dermatologist does an excisional biopsy and sends a sample of the growth to the lab. The pathologist at the lab checks the sample under a microscope to see if it is melanoma.

4. If it is melanoma, the dermatologist refers you to a surgeon for a sentinel lymph node or SLN biopsy. (Sometimes, the surgeon will remove the entire tumor and do the SLN biopsy at the same time, combining steps 3 and 4.)

5. If the dermatologist or surgeon has not yet removed the entire tumor and some surrounding skin, that happens next.

6. If tests show that melanoma has spread to nearby lymph nodes, the surgeon may remove those lymph nodes to help stop the cancer from spreading further.

7. If the melanoma has spread to the lymph nodes, you may have more tests including: blood tests, ultrasound, chest x-rays, or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to check if the cancer has also spread to other organs.

8. After all surgery is completed, an oncologist (a doctor who specializes in cancer) may prescribe other treatments. These are called adjuvant treatments, and they may be in the form of immunotherapy, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy.

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Alden’s 3rd Birthday Party!

Alden 3rd Birthday, originally uploaded by Melissa Rothe.

Today was our first venture out to a social event since our surgeries. Our nephew, Alden turned 3 years old and we were invited to share in the festivities. Our gracious hosts, Jenny & Ben served up some good grub! We had Cheeseburgers, 3 bean salad, Jones Soda pop, and for dessert a delicious Angelfood Cake with strawberries and whipped cream. yum!  For more photos of this event click on the photo of Alden.

Melanoma Surgery

Dr. Ting at Swedish was my first surgeon for the Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy on March 18th. I’ve been very happy with the results from both surgeries at Swedish (and Melissa’s). The results came back that of the two most likely nodes to have the cancer spread to one had a very minor (smaller than) microscopic amount of Melanoma cells. With this cancer any amount is bad and they recommended removing all Nodes from my right hip to see if there was anything else, even though there was a good chance that by this point they had removed all cancer from my body. Annie and Vanessa were able to come out and help me recover over Easter Time. Having them here with Melissa helped a lot and it was great to spend time with happy little Vanessa.

Unfortunately on the day I got the test results back from the first surgery was the day that my father Ed passed away at 60 from a Pulmonary Embolism on March 26, 2008 while playing Softball. While the funeral was difficult and I miss him very much it was good to see so much of my supportive family at this time who came out to honor my father. My work and Melissa’s and our friends have also been very supportive during this time and have made us thankful for all those we know.

The second surgery was done by Surgical Oncologist Dr. Holder, who is one of only two doctors in the state who does this type of surgery. On Apr 17 they removed another 5 lymph nodes from the right inguinal region, a 10” incision. The results came back clear! But we were still recommended to see an Oncologist for further treatment. Leading up to the second surgery Melissa was also in a lot of pain from a hernia in her right hip (inguinal region) too. At first we thought she was having sympathy pain, but the pain for her quickly got worse and she was forced to stay in bed. After searching for an available surgeon, ironically she was finally directed to Dr. Holder to do the surgery a week after mine on Apr 23^rd. It was good to share doctor’s visits with her. We were both laid up in bed together (a new bed thanks to mom!) and we’re grateful to have my mom and Melissa’s dad out to help us for the two weeks we couldn’t help each other. What amazing help we’ve had from our families.

Both of us have slowly been recovering well to almost full activity. With Physical Therapy I am able to avoid a lot of the long term after effects of the surgery like leg swelling, numbness, nerve pain and decreased use.

Day of Melissa's surgery & week after E's Surgery

Brandon Happy in New Bed!