Just saw your message today, so I assume you've had your
surgery. I was diagnosed in 2003 with stage 2. Negative
sentinel nodes (4 of them! all negative). I had surgery and
follow-up at the Melanoma Center at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore,
and two years of follow-up. God bless'em and Dr. Charles Balch.
I
too am terrified of recurrence. I have twice yearly comprehensive
skin checks by my local dermatologist. I've had two episodes of
actinic keatosis, small pre-cancerous lesions - one on my finger, and
2nd one on my arm. Both removed by liquid nitrogen treatment -
once only does it. It blisters up and looks butt-ugly, then heals
totally.
Here's my kicker. A year after melanoma (or
Mel, as I call him), I was diagnosed with breast cancer during a
routine mammogram. My first thought was that it was a recurrence
of Mel, but it was not. Struck by lightning 2 years in a row. ( I
could hardly wait for my colonoscopy.) After breast surgery and
radiation, I'm still OK, but I don't take anything for granted.
Be
vigilant. Get anything that looks suspicious checked.
Insist on a biopsy. And get a totaly body skin check every 6
months. And spread the word to your family members to be vigilant of
skin changes.
Good luck to us all.