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Anyone had recurring melanoma?

Posted by birdman518 @birdman518, Apr 9, 2022

Last May I had a melanoma removed from my head. Besides the excision I had SLN biopsies done and fortunately nothing was found. So I was basically declared "clear", and told I only should have quarterly checkups done by me regular dermatologist.
A few months ago I noticed what appeared to be a small scab on my excision area. I assumed (being bald) that I just might have hit my head somehow, but I did not remember doing it. I did take it seriously enough that I saw my dermatologist and he told me it was in fact just a scab.
Now, however, it appears to have recurred in the exact same place, and again I am sure I have not hit my head. This time I ran it by my surgeon at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa and his office asked me to come in, which I will be doing next week.
In the meantime I found an article (pretty technical) online which appears to me to be saying that melanoma can recur this way, including with negative SLN results.
Has this happened to anyone here?
Here is the article:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/fullarticle/508912

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birdman518 | @birdman518 | Apr 9, 2022
In reply to @callalloo "A negative result of a sentinel lymph node biopsy is always better than a positive result,..." + (show)
@callalloo

A negative result of a sentinel lymph node biopsy is always better than a positive result, but it doesn't guarantee anything. I had one during a breast cancer lumpectomy, and it was good news, but not necessarily definitive or predictive. Or at least that's my understanding.

I sail a lot with people, mostly men, who've had melanomas and get the area rechecked every few months as they are aggressive sneaky cancers. But you might be having some unrelated dermatologic event like reaction to a new sunscreen or soap. It's good that you can see a doctor so quickly to put your mind at ease. [I hope you're using a barrier sunscree, aka the old zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, as current research is finding bad stuff about the chemical ones. And the chemical ones have a very short shelf life, especially in Florida's climate. ]

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Thanks for replying. I basically never go out without a hat, but I do need to get off the standard sunscreen products, so I will look into that.

REPLY
callalloo | @callalloo | Apr 9, 2022

A negative result of a sentinel lymph node biopsy is always better than a positive result, but it doesn't guarantee anything. I had one during a breast cancer lumpectomy, and it was good news, but not necessarily definitive or predictive. Or at least that's my understanding.

I sail a lot with people, mostly men, who've had melanomas and get the area rechecked every few months as they are aggressive sneaky cancers. But you might be having some unrelated dermatologic event like reaction to a new sunscreen or soap. It's good that you can see a doctor so quickly to put your mind at ease. [I hope you're using a barrier sunscree, aka the old zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, as current research is finding bad stuff about the chemical ones. And the chemical ones have a very short shelf life, especially in Florida's climate. ]

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