My aunt is having her lymph nodes removed tomorrow. Melanoma has spread.

[Theyremybiscuits]

Please could anyone give us an idea what she may be like after the operation tomorrow?

Does it vary with each patient?

She has had some increased swelling and great pain etc in the last few days and now just wants 'the bloody thing out'.

She had a melanoma on her arm rmved 2 years ago and the thought it had all been excised.

Recently pain in her shoulder and a resulting ct scan has shown she has two swollen lymph nodes under her armpit and she is having them all removed tomorrow. (the armpit ones)

Obviously we are ansxious to support her and I would like to know of anyones experiences.

TIA. X

bump

No experience to offer ,but I'm so sorry .
My limited experience of oral cancer ( brother who today is having lymph nodes removed from one side of neck ,so will be interested in any replies you get ) is that they don't tell you much about what to expect .
I think it's a kind of policy ,to just tell you bits as you go along and when they are sure of the next step .
I can see the reasoning ,but it is hard ,always waiting for the next step,test ,etc .
Good luck ,< hugs >

I know a few people who have had lymph nodes removed and frankly depending on the extent of the cancer it can be an instant relief (she'll be sore but not under so much pressure from the swelling) or she'll be completely debilitated.

May I suggest the www.cancerbacup.org.uk (Now Macmillan) website is a good place to get info and experiences.

In terms of support, take it at her pace, she may be very tired or nauseous. Give her opportunities to talk and be willing to witter inanely until told to shut up.

DH had lymph nodes under his arm removed about a week after he had the melanoma (on his arm) removed and TBH he wasn't too bad. Sore of course, and tired. Heavily bandaged and stiches also. The doc signed him off for 4 weeks I think but he only took a week (more down to bravado then being completely better. Grr).

All the very best to her. It's a tedious business.

poor aunt - hope the op has gone well. I had 2 lymph nodes removed to see if my breast cancer had spread -(it hadn't) at the same time as my breast surgery.
Afterwards it was very sore as the wound rubs,being where it is and the nerves under the arm also get cut so there'll always be numbness. It was more uncomfortable than the breast wound in fact. It's important to do the exercises post surgery to get movement and stretch back in the arm and she must be very careful about lymphoedema as she will be vulnerable to this, so must take care not to cut or damage her arm/no injections,blood tests either. A year on and my underarm feels fine,just slightly numbed.

I had all of mine removed in April and was sore, but it wasn't too bad pain wise. I found it mostly a bit odd to be honest, as the whole area and right down your arm (mine to elbow) goes numb. It's sort of akin to when you've had an injection for dental work. She'll also lose mobility to a certain extent as they have to cut to get to the nodes. She'll be given exercises, which she absolutely must do to regain use. They work and aren't too arduous. The lack of sensation stays with you for some time. Mine's a lot better now but still feels strange to touch.

Am guessing she'll also have a drain in place. That's a tube which comes from the wound and drains into a clear bottle. The lymph nodes are there to clear your system so the body needs time to work out what to do with the fluid they dealt with. The drain itself is an annoyance, and a bit yuk, so she'll need a bag to keep it in/ make walking around easier. I had a bag which went over my shoulder with the sports drink type bottle at waist height (tube comes out under whatever top you're wearing if that makes sense). You have to keep the drain in until the fluid loss is below a certain level, but they won't let her have it for longer than 10 days in case of infection. If she is losing a lot of fluids she has to watch anaemia. I suffered from that and wish someone had warned me, as it makes recovery harder. If you're visiting her, it might be worth you taking a bag in that might work - my hospital didn't provide one - when I asked a nurse for one all she could find was a Tesco carrier bag.

I'd imagine she'll be out of hospital quite quickly, as most hospitals will let you home with the drains in, then you visit your Practice Nurse to check the wound.

Am guessing her main worry though is what they're going to find. Waiting for the results is far harder in many ways than the operation. Really hope she'll be alright through it all.

Just thought, but if you are going to visit her, another essential are some gentle wipes. You can't really wash the wound as it'll be covered, or anywhere near, so in this hot weather she'll welcome something to help her feel fresh.

That's all good advice smee .
Wonder how OP's aunt doing ...

Theyreymebiscuits, I also had all lymph nodes removed under one arm in April and I echo all the advice above. It will probably be painful for about 3 weeks. people vary but I took pain killers for 3 weeks after my 1st op to remove a sample of nodes in Jan. but after the April op I didn't need any at all.

Exercises are the critical thing to keep the tissues from tightening up - they really do work.

The drains weren't too difficult for me. Carried them round in a bag like Smee! I knew one fellow patient in awful pain due to the drain's position but I think this was a bit unusual - her drain was on a nerve.

I was lucky - the sample included 3 cancerous nodes but in the second op no more cancer was found.

Good luck. I hope the op went OK.

Thanks so much all of you.

She had the removal of all of them yesterday.

She feels abit washed out today and they are keeping her in till tomorrow.

She had two fairly large ones they identified on the ct scan and we now have to wait until the others have been tested to see if they have dodgy cells too.

Just praying that any other cells haven't gone walkabout in her body..

After all this, do you think they will regularly ct scan her to keep check if she has anything growing elsewhere, or is it a 'wait and see' situation?

Thank you again x

Hi, I don't know what they'll do but I think scans would be usual. I am on chemotherapy due to the spread to my lymph nodes from breast cancer but every cancer is different.

I'm really sorry to hear about your Aunt.

It is possible they will offer her some adjuvant therapy - that means something to stop the cancer recurring or spreading more.

It could be any type of chemo, or radiation to the armpit area, or they could apply for a place on a clinical trial but this is often reserved for those who have had other spread, not just to the nodes.

It is worth pushing for something like this - I'm sorry to say it but melanoma is a sneaky old cancer in that it often does take a while then come back - regular scans will be part of her follow up, even if they take a watch and wait approach for the time being.

Meanwhile she will learn how to examine herself for anything unusual, pain, swelling and so on. They will teach her all this.

She may have to wear a compression thing on her arm to stop the build up of lymph fluid, for a while after the op.

This is a chronic condition but can be managed with some care.

Really wishing her well - and if you want some specialised support, try the UK melanoma forum - google it using those words and it'll come up.

They are all very clued up on there.

Must be worrying for her, but sounds like she's in the best of hands. Hope she gets only good news from now on.