So far, my melanoma story is short and sweet:I had it, they found it, they removed it, I don't have it. Of course, wewill have to see what the future holds in store for me. To all my new friendsat the MPIPBBS, I say thank you for your support and advice.

For those of you who are not familiar withmy story, the following are some excerpts from my posts to the aforementionedBBS, which will give you a feel for my situation and the operation (WideLocal Excision, radiolymphoscintigraphy,and lymphadenectomy), the results of which are so graphically shown inthe pictures below.

NOTE: The links that are highlighted (withthe exception of 'wow', 'perspective', 'love', and the picture, which arelinked to humorous sound files) represent links to sites on the web thatI found exceptionally helpful and relevant.

Two weeks ago, my GP did a punch-hole typebiopsy. The path report said melatonistic lesion highly suspicious formalignant melanoma. The location of the 'incident' was between my neckand right shoulder. Last week, my gp removed a patch of skin down to thefascia with a minimum marginof one cm (the scar is almost two inches long). The skin patch was sentback to the lab and this time they identified a 1.5 mm deep melanoma, Clarks4. My gp has recommended I go to a plastic surgeon to have a biggerpatch (3 cm margin) removed and after that checkups every three months.

BTW: I am 40/m, lots of moles, no prior incidentsof melanoma in the extended family, although moles are common, avg. skintone, lots of summer sun during teen years (San Diego beaches). The locationof the melanoma is a spot where a scar from a previous mole removal (benign)12 years ago began to act up recently. The lesion looked more like a keloid/wart/pimplethan a mole.

Side note: I ended up seeing a surgical oncologist.

Gail, I went in this am at 8:30, filled outforms in outpatient radiology, got checked in, was taken back to get myshots of the radiolabeled colloid stuff (they did 4 shots around the scarleft from my one cm margin excision), then I went up to the outpatientsurgery center, more forms and checkin and they told me surgery is notscheduled until 1:30, so I left, went to read in my 4th graders class whichI usually do on Friday's (part of a program called Rolling Readers; I'mreading a book called Maniac Mcgee--one of the funniest books I've everread...you know what they say about laughter being the best medicine),checked my email and BBS messages, and I go back in at noon. I'll let youknow how the rest goes later. Thanx for your note. I'm glad to be gettingthis over with (although I'm bummed about a potential 1-2 week wait forpathology report you mentioned in your post to Mike-- that will be my firstquestion to my doc today).

I went in at noon, they took me in to changeinto one of their lovely hospital gowns with clashing robe and funky booties.Then it was off to preop for iv and heart monitor on a gurney. My wifeand Mom were able to hang out with me. At 1:30 they wheeled me into theoperating room. The incredible Dr. Goldfarb, my surgical oncologist, gotout the neoprobe to see if there was any radioactivity evident in the armpit.As he expected, there was none (it went to the nearby posteriortriangle). Thus we avoided the dye, SentinelNode Biopsy, etc. Then the anesthesiologist came in,hit me with a mask and the next thing I know, I'm in lala land in recovery,making best friends with the lady lieing next to me who had just wokenup. The surgery went fine. They did the WLE and took out the Lymph nodesfrom the P.T. while they were there. Because of the location above thetrapezius, they had to do quite a bit of extra work to close the wound,which was done by the outstanding plastic surgeon, Jonathon Jones. Afterrecovery, I was taken to my room, where I spent a relatively comfortablenight; no reaction to the anesthesia, no complications, even decent meals.I found out that the reason they refer to this procedure as a 23 hour procedureis because that's how long you can stay and still maintain outpatient status--gofigure. They called me a MOP--medical outpatient. This morning when theychanged the dressing, my wife and I got quite a shock. I knew the excisionwas going to be big, but wow!To avoid skin grafts, they do extra incisions called flaps so they canpull the skin together in this difficult location. There must be around60 stitches covering a zigzag z shaped scar with an extra leg off to theside covering about 8 inches total length. Very, very gross, but of coursepreferable to the alternative. There goes my future as an underwear model.I left the hospital at 10:30 to catch the last couple of innings of myboys' baseball games.

I go into the Dr. in two days to get the draintaken out. I should hear from the pathologist in a few days.

Thank you all for the prayers and positivevibes. I got the pathology report back today (I decided not to wait formy doctor's appointment on Friday--I just called up the hospital path.dept. and asked) and the score was: lymph nodes 8, melanoma 0. In otherwords, we caught the melanoma before it metastasized and hence I am consideredÎcured'. I, of course, never had any doubt.

The support I had from my family and friendswas incredible and appreciated beyond belief. My medical support was trulytremendous and reminds me that we should not take the talent, treatments,and facilities, some of which are available only in this country, for granted.

As a public service message, I offer the following:

Top ten lessons learned and/or reinforced:

10. Repeated sunburns may cause melanoma 20years later.

9. Have regular annual skin checkups by a qualifiedphysician/dermatologist.

8. Do not hesitate for a day to have a checkupif you have a suspiciousmole or skin condition.

7. Moles are suspicious if they itch or oneof these ABCD's are indicated:

A. Asymmetrical: symmetrical moles are usuallynot a problem

B. Border is uneven

C. Color: changes or black or blue shades becomeapparent

D. Diameter: larger than a pencil eraser ornoticeable size increase

6. If you have a melanoma (or any other majordisease), immediately learn everythingyou can about the disease, treatments, etc., because you need to take chargeof your treatment options, particularly in this HMO reality we live innow (my HMO was great, BTW). The Internet has become an invaluable resourcefor this.

5. There are many nonmedical lifestyle changesyou can make today to significantly improve the effectiveness of your immunesystem, including diet, exercise, stress reduction, sleep, peace of mind,herbal treatments, drinking water, breathing right, etc.

4. You shouldn't wait until a potentially lifethreatening situation occurs to have the kinds of very special but difficultdiscussions with your spouse and children which you need to have regardinga death in the family. You don't get this kind of opportunity very often.

3. Keep things in perspective.

2. Appreciate and find contentment in whatyou have.

1. Live your life with love,friendship, integrity and a certain measure of grace and humility and goodthings will always come your way.

I feel a little like Cuba Gooding Jr -- orwhatever his name is -- from the movie JerryMaguire, after Roy Firestone tells him of his huge new contract andCuba starts blubbering something like, " I love my wife, I love mykids, I love my brother -- Îyou militant T.C., but I love you -- I lovemy agent (I gotta get me one of those), I LOVE EVERYONE!!!!!

Thanks again everyone.

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