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What to expect with treatment of melanoma with metastasis?
Melanoma & Skin Cancer | Last Active: May 21 5:25pm | Replies (21)Comment receiving replies
Colleen, I very much appreciate your reply and apologize for my delay in responding. I was at the hospital with a COPD exacerbation & my daughter had emergency heart surgery. All your points are true, I was doing well with smoking cessation, then my daughter’s surgery got me smoking again. I’m sure I can do it ! I did check Harvard’s mindfulness program, unfortunately it’s not virtual but I’ve found other reputable ones. I guess my main problem is that my oncologist is insisting this be done asap! I’m terrified of the needle biopsy combined with severe COPD. I’d prefer a pulmonologist robotic one but am unable to get my dr. to arrange for it..my research shows it to be much safer. Do you have any information on a regular Interventional Radiologist’s needle biopsy? I have little time and am truly scared. Anything you can lend is so appreciated. And again, I’m so sorry for mt delay in responding. You are very kind. Thank you and will hope to hear back from you.
Replies to "Colleen, I very much appreciate your reply and apologize for my delay in responding. I was..."
Good morning, @uma1. It's @grammato3 here. following up. I'm sorry to hear that you and your daughter both required hospitalizations - that does sound stressful!
I'm glad to you've identified mindfulness program that allow you to participate virtually. I hope that assists with smoking cessation. While I personally never smoked, my mother had and it was a huge step for her to quit - which she had through tremendous will power when I'd informed her I was pregnant with her first grandchild, who will be 45 this coming Saturday! A few months later she showed signs not only of COPD but of a suspicious tumor in her lung. Back then, there was no such thing as a robotic biopsy so her only option was a needle biopsy. In her case, it did confirm a metastatic lesion but I have to tell you: she went on to having surgery and seeing not only my son but four more grandchildren born and see them mature into adulthood!
Again, that was 45 years ago and lots of adavances have been made since then. Personally, I underwent a robotic biopsy on my own lung nodule - which was small - however, still required sedation. Your entire team - from pulmonologist, to anesthesiologists, to nurses and techs - are tremendously experienced. That, combined with the skills you ought to gather from your meditation practice will ideally put your mind more at ease. There are also some online that can help supplement; perhaps someone on this site can recommend one they found helpful. Some months ago, I found and listened to the Honest Boys, a British gentleman with a soothing voice, provide a lovely Hawaain mantra of sorts that provided a great source of comfort for my situation. You can find it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDK8SWCz7fw.
Have you been able to enroll in one of virtual meditation programs yet?
Hi @uma1, to add to @grammato3's helpful post, you might find the free mindfulness videos from Mayo Clinic here helpful:
Health & Mindfulness Blog https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/mindfulness-in-health/tab/resources/#ch-tab-navigation
How are you doing?
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As an add on, I’ve been having regular bi monthly scans.