Treatment

Hi Bizzie

My husband had a melanoma on his cheek and an enlarged lymph node in his neck.

His treatment has consisted of a WLE which was negative for any further melanoma cells and a right side neck dissection where they removed 61 lymph nodes with only one being melanoma positive. 

He had a PET scan and the only areas lit up was the lymph node ( this was prior to his neck surgery)

Like you he was braf negative.

Today he had his first immunotherapy infusion of pembrolizumab. 

The plan is to have 9 sessions . An infusion every 6 weeks so taking about a year.

He will be checked and I believe scanned every 3 months and then decreasing frequency over the next years.

Hope this helps.

Joanne

Thanks very much.. wishing him  well…

I’ve had a WLE on my thigh too. How’s the healing? I’m a week into it now x

It’s healed really well and the one in my groin has too.

Ahh great - hoping mine will too xx

Hi Lizzie, sorry to hear about your diagnosis but welcome on here. We're a good chatty lot and there really are lots of people who have gone through what you are going through.   My surgery was July last year and I had three lymph nodes out, the sentinel one and one from either side. The sentinel and one other had melanoma cells in so I started treatment in September ( delayed as on scans they found two brain aneurysms!).  As you're Braf negative like me they'll give you Pembro (pembrolizumab).  You either have 200mg every three weeks or some consultants double up the dose and space it out- so 400mg every nine weeks. 

You have your bloods checked about 2-3 days beforehand and the infusion itself takes about half an hour with a small saline infusion before and after.  I went to my local chemo unit in Dorchester for mine and they were all wonderful, I miss them.  That's it. That's the treatment plus scans along the way, MRI of head and CT for all lymph node checks every three months. Plus a PET scan to occasionally!

It was a whirlwind of a year and I began to forget about the cancer and treatment in between each dose!

 I was lucky too as they had reflexology on offer since an enterprising lady had started that some years before.  During my treatment I did begin to claim back bits of my normal life too!  Take care xxx

Thankyou so much. Xx

Silly question  - I was shocked at how big the SLNB site was today at my dressing change and it’s really untidy looking. Was yours similar? It’s a six week wait to find anything out. Did you experience this too? It’s really shaken me seeing the wounds today uncovered xx

No it’s quite neat. I got my results yesterday after 4 weeks…

My lower one near my knee for the WLE is super neat but at the mo my SLNB looks a mess. I’m sure it’ll change. Hope all is well xx