Stage 2 forehead Melanoma - excision with or without lymph node biopsy?

Hi JohnnyB 

Sorry to hear of your diagnosis but welcome to the forum.

I was diagnosed with a stage 1b melanoma on my calf in 2018 and was offered the sentinel lymph node biopsy in addition to the wide local excision also. I said yes immediately as the surgery was low risk for me as an otherwise fit and healthy at the time 39-year-old and I felt that having the information the SLNB would provide would give me something that is absolutely priceless to me and that is peace of mind.

I went ahead with both procedures in December 2018 with clear results, no recurrence to date and no regrets!

I hope you manage to settle on what will work best for you and if you have any questions, feel free to fire away. 

Thank you, that's good to know. I find it confusing that the biopsy is only an option but I would want to know if there was any miniscule spead. Much appreciated 

I found that confusing at first too but it was explained to me by my consultant surgeon that while the WLE is classed as treatment, the SLNB is not. He went on tell me that the latter procedure is purely to obtain information to ascertain whether further treatment will be needed. I was also told it is only offered from stage 1b upwards as the risk of spread to lymph nodes is lower in stages in situ to 1A.

The surgery itself can come with potential risks and side effects, which you should be made aware of by your team if you haven't been already, so making a decision really comes down to cost versus benefit for the patient.