Newly diagnosed after pregnancy

[Ch256706]

Hi everyone. I wanted to share my story and hear from some of you who have gone through similar experiences or currently going through some type of treatment. I have always had atypical moles and have been followed by a dermatologist every 6 months for as long as I can remember. I unfortunately used tanning beds in college but have not set foot in tanning beds for 8+ years. On sept 1, 2017 I had my first baby. I went to the dermatologist when I was 14 weeks pregnant, 2 months after the baby was born and then 6 months after that. In April 2018 the derm biopsied a mole that ended up being melanoma. I switched to a melanoma specialist who informed me that she thought my pregnancy played a large role in this mole turning to melanoma. The depth of the mole was .6 so while they didn’t totally recommend a SNB I opted for it being that I have a baby and am only 30. Two weeks later, myself and the doctors were shocked to find that it spread to one lymph node. They said my chances of it spreading to the lymph nodes were 5% and I unfortunately was in the 5%. Last week I had the complete lymph node dissection and am waiting for those results. I have an appointment with a medical oncologist next week. I’m wondering what treatment others have done who have had similar situations to mine. I can’t help but feel so nervous for what is to come , but have a really great support system. I’m also wondering if anyone who has had it Spread to the lymph node went on to have a/another baby. My husband and I are pretty confident that we sadly will not have another child. Thank you for reading my story and hope to hear from some of you!

[MOMTOCKC3]

I am sorry that I don’t have much to add because I haven’t had this situation as of yet but I wanted to say 1. I will definitely pray for you and 2. ask if the lymph node was swollen or if you had anything going on that would have led you to think it might have spread there (discomfort or anything) and 3. Where was the melanoma and lymph node? Praying for a quick and speedy recovery for you!

[Ch256706 in reply to MOMTOCKC3]

Thank you for the prayers. There was no indication or suspicion that it spread. Nothing was swollen and the surgeon actually told my husband he would be very surprised if it spread there, as he saw nothing alarming while removing the nodes. He said it was microscopic spread so very very early and my melanoma specialist said we caught it basically as it spread. I opted to do the SNB because I just lost my mother in law to breast cancer and knew I would always doubt my decision if I just did the wise excision! I’m so glad I did it! The melanoma was on my back and lymph node under my right arm.

[laurakoco]

Hi there! I am 28 and also was just diagnosed with Melanoma 1A on my left leg last week. I haven’t gotten the surgical excision yet; that will happen next week. I am so glad you opted to biopsy your lymph nodes! This may have saved your life. Like you said the cancer does spread in ~5% of people with stage 1 so it’s so important to be proactive. When I meet with my Melanoma specialist on Monday I am going to ask them to do SNB as well because of your story. Thank you so much for sharing. This is a very scary disease (still can’t belive I have the c-word), but I’m able to find comfort that others are going through this with me. Please remember that you are not alone! I’d love to hear updates about your journey.

One day at a time,

-Laura

[Ch256706 in reply to laurakoco]

Yes it is very scary! I’m so glad I did the SNB. Good luck to you and I’m here if you have any questions!

[alalcorn88]

Wow, I could have almost written this. After my first pregnancy in 2016 I had a mole on my abdomen removed and it was +melanoma. I had the SNB and it spread to one lymph node. there were only 8 melanoma cells in the lymph node so I decided to do the “watch and wait”. I didn’t want a total node dissection because the risk of lymphedema scared me, and I was breastfeeding my son so interferon or any other immune suppressant was out for me. I just came up on 2 years cancer free and then yesterday had another mole come back melanoma. However, this one was barely getting started so no SNB. I do have a few more spots I’m getting removed Monday, mainly because I’m super anxious now and just want all my suspicious moles gone.

Good luck and congrats on the baby!!! My oncologist said that a lot of women are diagnosed with cancer during or shortly after pregnancy because your immune system decreases so much to not fight off the baby and then cancerous cells can rapidly multiple 😢