Hi,
My husband was diagnosed stage 1a melanoma 2 wks ago. We were told it was caught early but they wanted to arrange a WLE as a precaution. This is booked for tomorrow.
When he was told of his diagnosis he was given a thorough examination. The specialist nurse had no concerns on other moles but found enlarged lymph nodes in his armpit. This is nearest to the cancer site on his chest. At the time the nurse said he wasn't concerned as at stage 1a he would be very surprised if it indicated that the cancer had spread. It could be due to separte issue, an injury and surgery my husband had back in August, it could be his body still be fighting that. Although, in reflection, I would have thought that the lynph nodes in his groin would be enlarged, not his armpit, as this is right near where he had his accident and surgery. Anyway, they referred him for a scan, which he had last wk. Didn't expect the lady who scanned him to say anything but she said, 'yes they are enlarged but look fine to me. No evidence that they are in the cortex,'. Not sure what that meant but it felt like a relief. Then, this morning, his nurse calls up and says they have scan results back, have shown them to a professor and now want him to have a SLNB. Now I am panicking, as, to me, it implies there is something to be concerned about. We are now awaiting call to book that in. However, having had a quick Google search, it seems that WLE and SLNB tend to be done at the same time. Is this best practice? As my husband will now be having WLE done first thing tomorrow then the SLNB done whenever we get the appointment through.
