Treatment decision

[Cprovost05]

Hi, I am 27 and was diagnosed with melanoma two months ago. Had wide excision and SNB done and a small tumor was in the lymphnode they removed. My oncologist has given me the option to wait and watch or to do a year of immunotherapy-nivolumab. Any other young moms that have faced this decision? I have a husband and a one year old.

[Robynfine]

Good morning! I am no expert but I have been living with this disease since 2009. It’s very aggressive. I was originally stage 1 in 2009 and jumped to stage 4 in 2012. My question for you is do you have a melanoma specialist or a general oncologist? If you are asking for advice, I would say make sure you have a melanoma specialist and go for the treatment. Melanoma is a sneaky cancer and once in your lymph system and blood you have a high chance of it spreading. Don’t mean to scare you but you need to be aware of how aggressive it can be.

I am a mom but my daughter was a bit older when I was going through treatment. There is lots of help available as well. I also want you to know that I was on ipi. I had mets in breast, back and lymph nodes as well as brain. I have been 4 years and 11 months NED! There is hope! Keep me posted! Robyn

[VivaciousMo]

Hi there, I don't have kids but I was faced with the same decision last year between watch and wait and do immunotherapy. I wasn't sure about it because of potential side effects, but a nurse kind of talked me into it by saying most of the side effects are mild compared to what can happen if the melanoma comes back. I ended up doing the immunotherapy, but that's an individual decision. I agree with Robyn that seeing a melanoma specialist or getting a second opinion might help you make the decision.

Also-- something I wish someone had told me-- do everything in your own power to get your immune system in tip top shape right now and for the rest of your life. When our immune systems are strong, they can fight off the melanoma, but it's when our immunity is compromised that something bad can happen. So, if you are like me, you may want to look at reducing stress, eating better (vegetables! vegetables! cutting sugar), sleeping a decent amount and exercising. Even though I thought of myself as a generally healthy person, I realized I had been doing things that wore down my immune system. If you haven't read it, Anticancer is a great read. It talks about treating your whole "terrain" and making your body and mind as strong against cancer as you can through things you control in your life. It was very empowering for me.

I hope you get all the information you need to make the right decision for yourself! Sending you good thoughts!

Moriah

[kboudreau]

I was diagnosed almost 2 years ago with stage 3c melanoma and at that point my son was not quite 3 years old. I knew almost immediately at this point in my life I was not willing to just wait and see.

I ended treatment early due to side effects (colitis). This past August was 1 year from my last treatment and while I am still treating some side effects (joint pain) I do not regret my decision to do treatment. (my treatment was ipilimumab)

As with the other commenters I suggest finding a Melanoma specialist.

That all being said, treatment was not easy, I was exhausted, irritable and felt like I had very little patience at a time in my child's life that lots of patience is required. I had an awesome husband, a helpful family and my employer was extremely understanding of the situation. My point being, I was ok with asking for help which was good because I needed it to get through.

[Robynfine in reply to kboudreau]

Well said! I didn’t ask for help but I was lucky to have a great support system. They took it upon themselves to help me and I appreciate it more than I can say!!