So yesterday we got to go visit the surgeon and get the results back. They were happy with the way the incisions are healing and I’m showing good progress. The bad news came when they said that there were some melanoma cells found within one of the two lymph nodes that were taken. The good news was that there were very few cells taken, not even enough to say that it wasn’t just my immune system removing the cells from action. In a way I feel that this is the best news from a health and worry perspective. Had he said they found nothing and they would consider me done I can imagine myself becoming more worried at every twinge and perceived oddity for years to come. This way I’m getting some further treatment as a security measure.
Monday I have to go in and have a brain MRI and a complete VT scan of the rest of my system to make sure there aren’t more tumors present. The surgeon said that he didn’t expect that with as few cells as they found in the lymph node, he didn’t expect to find anything in the rest of the scans. I suppose there could be coincidental findings, but I’m not worried about that. So, should everything go well with the scans after I get back from exciting Reno, Nevada I get to start a nearly year-long course of Interferon treatments.
I really had a good feeling that everything was going to be all right, and I hadn’t realized that it was really ‘bad news’ until the Doctor referred it to that. But he said that with the very low amount of spread into the lymph node my chances were still as good as if they hadn’t found anything at all.