Malignant melanoma is the one skin cancer which if not detected early, will certainly take your life! Early detection and treatment is vital to survival. This report, from a Melanoma Patient who fortunately survived the spread of Melanoma into his lymphatic system, highlights essential information.
Attending gym at the age of 35, our reporter was in the changing room when a doctor said to have a mole on his body seen to. The doctor said it looked like a mole that will give trouble! Our reporter, a dyed in the wool conspiratist, said he had the mole all his life, and thought no more about it. Thirty years later, the ugly truth manifested. It was a malignant melanoma!
This report provides a brief layman’s overview with the essential message, PREVENTION is better than cure! The report briefly covers the following.
- Who is at risk
- What are the symtoms
- What is the treatment
- What are the after effects
- What is the conclusion
WHO IS AT RISK
Typically, fair skinned men with red hair and freckles, living an out door life, over the age of sixty, having a multi coloured or dark and irregularly shaped mole, and coming from a family with a history of cancer, are the highest possible risk. There has been an increase in women under the age of forty, developing melanoma.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS
The first sign of a melanoma is an itch in the area where there is a mole that is suspect. The second sign will be tiny blood spots on the patient’s sheets. The mole will look like it had been scratched on something, and that it will heal, however this will not prove to be the case. It will worsen, eventually result in increased bleeding, and force a doctor’s consultation, having become ulcerous.
WHAT IS THE TREATMENT
Immediate removal of what will be termed the primary legion, is essential! It will have usually been left too late at the ulcerous stage, however, the faster the biopsy report is followed up on, the better the chance of survival. If left to the stage of becoming ulcerous, what is known as the Breslow Depth of the legion will determine the urgency of the surgery that is more than likely to follow. In our reporter’s instance, the tiny spots of blood on the sheets were visible for at least two months prior to the mole becoming ulcerous. Action at the itching stage could have prevented follow up surgery.
The follow up surgery will involve a PET scan, (Positron Emission Tomography), which requires the injection of radio active isotopes around the excised primary legion. This will determine the direction of the lymphatic flow in the body to identify the Sentinal Node, or the first node to receive lymphatic fluid from the malignant primary legion. This node will be removed for a biopsy report. If positive, a surgical clearout of the area will be necessary and possibly followed up with radiation.
WHAT ARE THE AFTER EFFECTS
Leaving any irregular mole too long to become ulcerous, will require a groin or axilla clearout. This will result in impaired use of the affected limb. Losing lymph nodes impacts on the body’s control of lymphatic fluid in the limb, and results in permanent swelling known as lympheodema. If more than half the lymph nodes are lost in the follow up surgery, you will have a significantly swollen limb and your daily activity will be affected. After surgery you will require a drain. Most importantly, if a surgical clearout is advised, it is advisable to take the measurements of the affected limb immediately to have a compression garment prepared. Compression should be applied as soon as is practical after the wound has healed sufficiently to have removed the drain. Radiation will be advised, and follow as soon as possible.
CONCLUSION
Fair skinned people enjoying an outdoor life should NEVER get sun damaged! They should have their body checked regularly for any sign of a mole developing, or changing colour, or shape. Irregularly shaped moles should NEVER be ignored, but removed as early in life as possible. Infants should have dark spots on their body counted and mapped. These should be monitored annually tabulating observations. Prevention is distinctly preferred. Removal of irregulaly shaped moles as early as possible in one’s life, is highly recommended!
Lester Oliver Thomas Flock © 2022