tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320450055573507207.post258101409791553492..comments2024-03-26T16:20:50.357-04:00Comments on Attitude of Gratitude: Misconceptions In Melaland & What To Do About ThemCarol Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17930711637707595995noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320450055573507207.post-48151891146378211522013-12-17T08:55:32.387-05:002013-12-17T08:55:32.387-05:00I hear you, Barbara! We've got our work cut ou...I hear you, Barbara! We've got our work cut out for us, but we're up to it. I love us, too. Blessings!Carol Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17930711637707595995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320450055573507207.post-75583505855469928962013-12-16T20:03:01.656-05:002013-12-16T20:03:01.656-05:00Great post thank you. I too get very upset when I ...Great post thank you. I too get very upset when I tell others I had Melanoma I get either isn’t that an old peoples disease or don’t you just get it cut out . There is not enough people educated and that is why we all feel so alone others think we are being dramatic unless it has actually affected them some how. I love my Melanoma family and how we all work together for the same outcome ..Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01131696305651241464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320450055573507207.post-10415580918291205832013-12-16T10:50:43.755-05:002013-12-16T10:50:43.755-05:00How horrible, Kimberly! I am so, so very sorry! Pr...How horrible, Kimberly! I am so, so very sorry! Prayers for you and for your family as you move forward.Carol Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17930711637707595995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320450055573507207.post-14328496704642927902013-12-16T10:41:33.213-05:002013-12-16T10:41:33.213-05:00My husband was diagnosed stage1 March 2012. A wide...My husband was diagnosed stage1 March 2012. A wide local excision was done and lymph nodes removed in his armpit and groin. No other scans were done until April 2013. He was diagnosed stage IV in May. He earned his wings November 22, 2013. If we only knew then what we know nowKimberley Reidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320450055573507207.post-21505119935971855672013-12-16T10:13:25.897-05:002013-12-16T10:13:25.897-05:00Hi Rebecca! I think there's so much to learn a...Hi Rebecca! I think there's so much to learn about this disease...there may well be different kinds of melanoma. I know we know that it's different in everyone who has it. I just wish we could get the attention of doctors and insurance companies. I mean, seriously, WE know these things...surely THEY do, so why aren't they acting on what they know? It could be any of them one day!<br />Quick! Kick my soapbox out from under me! Blessings!Carol Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17930711637707595995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320450055573507207.post-63259106113764656062013-12-16T10:03:27.498-05:002013-12-16T10:03:27.498-05:00In-situ stage in December 2004 to stage 2A in Apri...In-situ stage in December 2004 to stage 2A in April of 2007. Onward to stage 4 in my right lung in December 2009. Never was stage 3! Melanoma is a disease of the blood. I see a hematologist melanoma specialist. Hematology studies diseases of the blood not skin! Of course melanoma can begin on the skin but I have talked to people who never had a skin lesion or the lesion was never found. It makes me wonder if there are different kinds of melanoma. Thank you for speaking up in a forceful good way! RebeccaAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03554661556687399490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320450055573507207.post-62772179732724909192012-12-16T16:52:55.404-05:002012-12-16T16:52:55.404-05:00The next time you see your drs...give them hug for...The next time you see your drs...give them hug for me and tell them "thank you" from a fan. You are truly blessed, Scot. I wish they could get their colleagues to follow suit.Carol Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17930711637707595995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320450055573507207.post-85117713040832383702012-12-16T08:47:12.180-05:002012-12-16T08:47:12.180-05:00I'm stage II and have been NED for two years n...I'm stage II and have been NED for two years now. I get scans every 6 months. Insurance will not pay for PET/CT, but they will pay for CT scans(head,neck,chest,abdomin ,pelvis). My oncologist will continue to order as long I want them. My doctors were very aggressive with my treatment. I feel very fortunate to have the doctors that I have. Considering all the stories that I read about.<br /><br />Scotscothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13256951786216811443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320450055573507207.post-61334988459446042132012-12-15T15:14:53.352-05:002012-12-15T15:14:53.352-05:00I understand that! There is a "size" th...I understand that! There is a "size" they wait for because it does biopsy better. I wish doctors would understand what that attitude does to us though. Are you seeing a melanoma specialist? If not, please get your records and make an appt for a second opinion. If you are, wait your 3 months, but keep a DAILY check on that swollen node. And get someone who shares your household, or good trusted someone if you live alone, to also feel it daily...same person to palpitate it each day. If you ever feel that thing getting ever so slightly bigger during that 3 months, call and insist on being seen asap. In the grand scheme of things, 3 months isn't too terrible. If he had said 6, I'd slap him for you :). <br /><br />The medical profession really does need a better understanding of what this diagnosis does to us.<br /><br />Blessings and let me know what happens. Prayers.<br />And, please, if you're on Facebook, connect with me and a great support system at Melanoma Prayer Center.Carol Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17930711637707595995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320450055573507207.post-92119269956080307312012-12-15T14:50:12.789-05:002012-12-15T14:50:12.789-05:00My doctors seem to take my melanoma seriously - as...My doctors seem to take my melanoma seriously - as far as follow up visits and exams. Yet I too am left wondering why not more? My melanoma was found early - and I am diligent about seeing my dermatologist regularly, but when I read stories of how someone is diagnosed with stage 1 and then down the road it comes back stage 3 or 4 - it does make me wonder . . . why wait? And it makes me worry. I have an enlarged lymph node which my oncologist is taking serious because of my melanoma, yet I am not completely comfortable with the, "come back in three months and if it still there we will biopsy it then." (because right now it isn't the size where they automatically do the biopsy). I think the scariest thing for me is always wondering . . . will it come back? It has been about a year now since I had surgery - but it seems like it is always somewhere in my thoughts. <br />Love standard #9 - God and prayers is what helps me.<br />Bless you!Clarehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17426331532588333180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320450055573507207.post-73809368235595472672012-12-14T21:36:44.712-05:002012-12-14T21:36:44.712-05:00Penny, stage 4, no matter what stage it advances f...Penny, stage 4, no matter what stage it advances from...stage 4 always means it has spread into an internal organ. That's what's so scary about melanoma and why ALL stages should be scanned. It can happen and does, that stage 0, 1, and 2 can spread to 4. Not often, but when you're the person it happens to, and it might have been caught earlier...well, those scans can make a huge difference in a person's life.<br /><br />Right now, no one that I've heard of scans 0 and 1 patients and few scan 2s. That needs to change. <br /><br />Remember that not all surface melanoma presents in moles. So don't just watch for those changes. Prayerfully, you'll never have any more melanoma. You are at increased risk, though for basal cell and squamous cell skin cancer because of your melanoma diagnosis.<br /><br />Also, make SURE you are under the care of a melanoma specialist dermatologist. Not all are. Make sure you get full-body checks twice a year and "full body" means "full body". When were you diagnosed and where do you go?<br /><br />If you're on Facebook, please feel free to connect with me at Melanoma Prayer Center. This way is good too.<br />Blessings and prayers...<br /><br />Grace and peace,<br />Carol<br /><br />Carol Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17930711637707595995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320450055573507207.post-18366201289965409242012-12-14T21:22:08.855-05:002012-12-14T21:22:08.855-05:00When it comes back from a stage 0 to a 4 what happ...When it comes back from a stage 0 to a 4 what happens? Is it another mole? Is it an internal thing where you feel something is wrong? I was diagnosed stage 0 and all I get are skin checks. I wish they would have scanned me, but they didn't. This diagnosis has had terrible affect on mePennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16777651831256817662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320450055573507207.post-49165376767188495392012-12-14T13:32:59.697-05:002012-12-14T13:32:59.697-05:00I didn't realize, Al. Wow. You'd think by ...I didn't realize, Al. Wow. You'd think by now that the medical profession would have caught on and be doing those scans. How many more have to die? And, yes, that does sound like a potential blog post...for somebody...or two...Carol Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17930711637707595995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320450055573507207.post-35176651531435659042012-12-14T12:53:51.427-05:002012-12-14T12:53:51.427-05:00Jeff was diagnosed with melanoma in 2004...no stag...Jeff was diagnosed with melanoma in 2004...no stage identified. We assume stage 1. No scans followed...only skin checks and blood work. He met the 97% survival rate after 5 years...he never quite made it to 6 years as he was diagnosed stage 4 with no warning. He was gone 3 months later. I always wonder, "What if he had been scanned regularly?" Great post Rev!Alhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08599030218893321329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320450055573507207.post-32580841503282181782012-12-14T12:43:32.032-05:002012-12-14T12:43:32.032-05:00I wish we could get the ear of those in the medica...I wish we could get the ear of those in the medical profession who could make it happen. Glad Jillian's surgeon ordered that scan!Carol Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17930711637707595995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320450055573507207.post-37023794072432049362012-12-14T11:56:35.104-05:002012-12-14T11:56:35.104-05:00Great post Bossy. As many of you know, Jillian was...Great post Bossy. As many of you know, Jillian was diagnosed with stage 2, and after a PET scan that her dear surgeon, yes, surgeon,ordered one year later,it was discovered that she was Stage IV. Because of that scan, we have been blessed to have her with us for two more years. We are cherishing the time she has left with us.I pray with all my heart that those with any stage of melanoma take it deadly seriously. Susan Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02045565006630411968noreply@blogger.com