Question:
My Mom had a melanoma under her thumb nail on her left hand. It went
undiagnosed for nearly two years. The diagnosis was "nail fungus." Eventually
it was diagnosed as correctly as melanoma. Due to the very late diagnosis the
doctor amputated her entire thumb since removing the spot under the thumb was
impossible. This was nearly 3 years ago.
Two years ago my Mom developed a lump in her left arm pit. The doctor
took out a very large tumor (the size of a man's fist) that was melanoma. All
the lymph nodes were also removed since they too were full of melanoma. The
doctor told us, "The only reason I removed the tumor is because it was giving
her discomfort." He indicated that the size and location of the melanoma made
for a grim prognosis. Due to her age and physical condition, and the low
success rate of available drugs, the doctor felt she was a bad candidate for
follow up treatment.
Now my Mom has developed a large (2.3cm X 1.8cm X .9cm) lump in her left
breast. She's had a mammogram and an ultrasound. Additionally, she had a
needle biopsy at the doctors office last week.
The surgeon who did the biopsy indicated that he thought it was "unlikely"
to be melanoma in the breast. My Mom's Internal Medicine doctor said he "would
not be surprised" if it was. We were not given any results of the biopsy.
Naturally, the surgeon wants to do surgery. My Mom is 77 years old and in
the middle stages of dementia. She lives in assisted living. The doctor
treating her dementia says, "There will be little or nothing left in 2 to 3
years."
Has anyone heard of a melanoma tumor in the breast? I did a web search
and only found one article. It was by an outfit pushing "alternative medicine"
which leads me to immediately dismiss their claims.
It is very unlikely that we will allow surgery. What non surgical
treatments are available, assuming this is not melanoma?
Answer:
Hi..I'm an RN who works for a group of breast surgeons. I am amazed and
inspired by the knowledge and empathy within the internet. In regards to
melanoma in the breast...we DID havethis occurr in one of our patients...she
developed metastatic melanoma of the breast...prev. diax and tx for melanoma
of thw baby toe...this was not and does not become breast cancer so Tx is
specific for melanoma guidelines.
