Saturday, June 30, 2007
Melanoma Cancer Staging
Malignant melanoma are staged according to the severity of the invading tumor. This staging ranges from Stage O-Stage IV. Treatment options vary with the stages and the higher the stage the worse the prognosis. I have added a link which defines each stage should you wish more information.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/melanoma/Patient/page2#Keypoint8
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/melanoma/Patient/page2#Keypoint8
Wide Excision and Sentinel Lymph Node Mapping for Melanoma
The sentinel node mapping and biopsy is the next procedure my husband is having done. Along with an increasing of the margins from the tumor which was already removed and a skin graft. If the node biopsy returns negative, that will indicate the cancer has not spread into his lymph node system. That is what we are hoping for!
More Mole Pictures
Please check this site out. It shows you more pictures of how a malignant mole may appear.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/moles-and-dysplastic-nevi/page9
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/moles-and-dysplastic-nevi/page9
Friday, June 29, 2007
Another Educational Tool
Here is another link which will help educate you regarding the need for protection from the harmful sun rays. there is a nice section which reviews "some commons myths". check it out.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs271/en/
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs271/en/
What's it all about?
Melanomas are the most serious form of skin cancers. It is a malignant tumor of the melanocytes which are the cells that make the pigment in our skin. These tumors grow downward through the epidermis and dermis layers of the skin. If they go deep enough they can enter the lymph system and migrate to other parts of the body. Our skin is the largest organ in the human body. To have cancer strike in the largest organ of the body can be extremely frightening. If caught early enough melanonas are very curable. If it is not identied and treated early the prognosis it not as bright. The best defense is a good offense. Please check out this link which has a risk assessment tool for melanoma. Happy Friday!
http://www.cancer.gov/melanomarisktool/
http://www.cancer.gov/melanomarisktool/
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Did you Know?
Melanomas are the most aggressive type of skin cancers? Did you know men die twice as fast as women from this disease? Did you know the location of the melanoma is important, because the risks increase if the melanoma is on the neck or head versus the extremities? Did you know melanomas are the only type of skin can which can metastasize? Basal and squamous skin cell cancer are located deeper into the skin system, but they do not travel? How much more do you not know about this common deadly disease?
Monday, June 25, 2007
It's Going to be a Hot Time
Well if you have listened to the weather for this upcoming week you have probably heard how hot it will be by Wednesday. This means people will be wearing less clothes, spending more time in the sun and increasing their risk of developing malignant melanomas unless they take proper precautions.
One sunburn , even as a young child is all that is needed to increase your risk of developing this type of skin cancer. The more hours spent in the sun prior to age 20 greatly enhances the chance of developing melanomas later in life. If you are going to be spending time in the sun you should follow a few simple precautions:
One sunburn , even as a young child is all that is needed to increase your risk of developing this type of skin cancer. The more hours spent in the sun prior to age 20 greatly enhances the chance of developing melanomas later in life. If you are going to be spending time in the sun you should follow a few simple precautions:
- Wear a sunscreen with a SPF of at least 30 for adults and 50-60 for young children, re-apply frequently
- Wear a wide brimmed hat
- Wear sunglasses to protect against ultraviolet-B rays
- Avoid sun exposure between the hours of 10am-4pm if possible
The closer one lives to the sun, for example the more southern states, the greater the risk factor.
Keeping this in mind, go out and enjoy a safe, sunny day!
Saturday, June 23, 2007
When Things Go Wrong
This blog was originally to be a fun project, a part of our research class. You may have noticed I have not posted anything for the last week.
When I left class on Sunday, which was my birthday, I was very excited for multiple reasons. I had an entire week off for vacation. A week planned to continue work on our property, and now I could also get a head start on my research project, "Dancing Horses" which is really about the dressage style of riding put to music. It has nothing to do with my ILP project, Hippotherapy. I was following Catherine's advice and researching a strictly fun project, something I always wanted to learn more about but really did not have the time to do so. this would give me the excuse I needed to learn more about the origins of dressage.
Monday June 18, 2007 I spent the better part of the day collecting my dressage information, storing it on del.icio.us, viewing You tube videos for the best "dancing horses" I could find, and really feeling good I was getting a head start on my blog project.
Tuesday my husband had a routine post-op visit with a surgeon who had removed a mole from his back the week before. His PCP did not think the mole really was anything to worry about but had referred him to the surgeon just to be safe. l accompanied my husband to the office and fumed as we waited for the physician who was 1 hour behind schedule. When my husband went in for his visit I asked if he wanted me to join him in the room, he said no he'd be right out. Thirty minutes later he came back out and said"I think you need to join us".
That is when the surgeon informed us not only did my husband have malignant melanoma,but due to the depth of the biopsy, and the fact that is did not come back with clean margins, there was a strong possibility this melanoma had entered his lymph system. Not a good way to begin the week.
My blog project quickly went to the very bottom on my list of priorities which needed to be done this week. My research was now focused on what we needed to know to deal with this cancer which my husband has now been diagnosed with and getting to the other physicians we needed to see before his surgery date.
It was a whirlwind week, but we did see his PCP, spoke with the cancer center, had pre-op lab work and EKG's done, and next week he will complete his pre-op visit with the anesthesia department.
When the dust settled, I thought how am I going to keep going with school? My first impulse was to simply drop out of this course. Not a smart financial move, but certainly an option. The other option was to take things one step at a time.
The doctors will not know for sure if it has entered the lymph system until after the find the sentinel node and remove it to test for spread of the malignancy. So things still could be OK. I then contacted Catherine and asked to change my topic and share what I have learned about melanomas of the skin. Perhaps you will all learn something which could help you in your own personal protection against this common skin cancer which affects some 56,000 new patients a year and results in the deaths of over 8,000 people per year. This will become my new blog topic.
When I left class on Sunday, which was my birthday, I was very excited for multiple reasons. I had an entire week off for vacation. A week planned to continue work on our property, and now I could also get a head start on my research project, "Dancing Horses" which is really about the dressage style of riding put to music. It has nothing to do with my ILP project, Hippotherapy. I was following Catherine's advice and researching a strictly fun project, something I always wanted to learn more about but really did not have the time to do so. this would give me the excuse I needed to learn more about the origins of dressage.
Monday June 18, 2007 I spent the better part of the day collecting my dressage information, storing it on del.icio.us, viewing You tube videos for the best "dancing horses" I could find, and really feeling good I was getting a head start on my blog project.
Tuesday my husband had a routine post-op visit with a surgeon who had removed a mole from his back the week before. His PCP did not think the mole really was anything to worry about but had referred him to the surgeon just to be safe. l accompanied my husband to the office and fumed as we waited for the physician who was 1 hour behind schedule. When my husband went in for his visit I asked if he wanted me to join him in the room, he said no he'd be right out. Thirty minutes later he came back out and said"I think you need to join us".
That is when the surgeon informed us not only did my husband have malignant melanoma,but due to the depth of the biopsy, and the fact that is did not come back with clean margins, there was a strong possibility this melanoma had entered his lymph system. Not a good way to begin the week.
My blog project quickly went to the very bottom on my list of priorities which needed to be done this week. My research was now focused on what we needed to know to deal with this cancer which my husband has now been diagnosed with and getting to the other physicians we needed to see before his surgery date.
It was a whirlwind week, but we did see his PCP, spoke with the cancer center, had pre-op lab work and EKG's done, and next week he will complete his pre-op visit with the anesthesia department.
When the dust settled, I thought how am I going to keep going with school? My first impulse was to simply drop out of this course. Not a smart financial move, but certainly an option. The other option was to take things one step at a time.
The doctors will not know for sure if it has entered the lymph system until after the find the sentinel node and remove it to test for spread of the malignancy. So things still could be OK. I then contacted Catherine and asked to change my topic and share what I have learned about melanomas of the skin. Perhaps you will all learn something which could help you in your own personal protection against this common skin cancer which affects some 56,000 new patients a year and results in the deaths of over 8,000 people per year. This will become my new blog topic.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
