My mother was diagnosed in 2006 with a very small melanoma in her neck. This was successfully removed.In 2009 it had came back in her small bowls and been in there for a while. Although undetected, it was sucessfully removed with no evidence of the disease else where in her body. Recently she did a ct scan and it showed nothing.. however a pet scan was taken and showed a verryy small amount (still not sure whether it is melanoma though), which means that it is very early stages ( as the ct scan did not pick it up) and it can/will be removed once again. And still no where else in her body. Doctors are not sure whether chemo should be given post op as after this there is no evidence of the disease. Shes doing fine though. No weight loss. What are your opinions? Thank you

what a great idea this is for the passing and receiving of information in a time of unknowing. 
my story began 2 years ago with removal of a melanoma in my inside thigh, actually went undetected for a while but when it was removed the result was not good and back in for more to come out.it was mentioned of the cuff about removal of nodes but the final decision was leave them where they are to do what they do best (capture stray cancer cells) 
in march this year i had an enlarged node come up on the same side in my groin which was surgically removed along with 7 other infected nodes (damage to leg is an understatement and if any one else is needing info on the aftermath of having groin nodes removed pls feel free to get in touch)march this leg another enlarged node in other groin and lump in neck after two fine needle investigations , a ct scan and a pet scan im told its now in all lymph nodes, 4 spots in my liver ,a spot in my lung and a couple of wayward ones in my stomach and buttocks. first words - bugger..... 
i have just started chemo this week and am having dacarbazine every three weeks ,course of 6 treatments, so if anyone has any info on this id love to hear. 
im only on my third day so no nausea or effects as yet fingers crossed. but im sure they will come. i truly beleive a positive attitude is what will get me to the other side 
and like other it seems the family and friends get more distraught than the patient.comments like how can you be so strong and so happy and positive - if you beleive yourself to be all of the above you will be but if you allow the negativity and despair of others to bring you down that is how you will feel. i find great solace in meditation and my best gift was a ipod stacked with my all my big voice girl singers and all my quiet music.anyway this is my first time on this sight so sorry if i have rambled on ,gone from fulltime sales work to fulltime cook and homebody - taking a while to get used to not talking all day 
cheers from cairns north queensland 
beautiful one day -perfect the next

Just want to share my experience of having DTIC (dacarbazine) chemotherapy to give encouragement to others who may be offered it. I have metastatic melanoma from an unknown primary, but thankfully I went early to my GP to have a sub cutaneous nodule checked out and the disease was limited to 7 similar nodules, with no organs involved. I had 8 cycles at 3 weekly intervals, based on 800mg per m2 (protocol used at Auckland Hospital, NZ)and really found it very tolerable. I didn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t lose my hair and my blood counts weren\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t affected so most people were unaware that I was having chemo and I was able to continue with my 3 day a week job. The children didn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t notice too much difference in me and carried on as normal, as I just had about 3 days of feeling a bit \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'blah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' after the chemo day. Nausea was the worst side effect I had and this did increase with each subsequent cycle, so by the 8th I needed quite a range of anti nausea drugs to get me through the first evening. However, it was nothing I couldn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t tolerate and I could literally feel the melanoma lumps disappearing over those first few days and that made it all worth while. The other thing to be aware of is that DTIC is classed as an \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'irritant\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' so it really burns going into your vein if it\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s not diluted sufficiently. It should be given through the sidearm of the drip with saline running through as well or it can be very painful. Mine was given over 2 hours via a pump, with a litre of saline also over 2 hours through another pump and that way it didn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t cause me any problems. My oncologist wanted me to continue until all disease had resolved, so there was no upper limit on how many cycles I could go to as long as it was working and I was tolerating it. I had a CT scan after cycle 7 and this came back clear after cycle 8 so I stopped then. That was two months ago and I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'m really well and hoping to stay that way for a long, long time. Hope this is helpful - I know everyone of us responds differently, but for me DTIC was a very positive experience.

Hello, we are a family in the Netherlands. Our son Ivo (27) has Metastasen from his Melanoom, suddenly the desease is developing very rapidly. Liver and Longs, perhaps Kidney. 
He has had treatmednt of Chemo Dacarbazine, but after 2 treatments the doctors said that the chemo has no effects. We have no alternative. Perhaps you can help us. In Germany there is Tace but we don't know if it helps. Our doctors in Brussels, Amsterdam, Rotterdam say there is no treatment. Meanwhile Ivo is on Morfine and the desease is developing. Have you any suggestions, please inform us. 
Fam. Witteman, Zierikzee, Netherlands.

I have just found i have melanomas. I have had surgery to remove but it has spread to the glands in my arm pit.The doctor has said he will remove them.I have been reading about the cloning of blood cells and then returning them to the blood system,this has shown to be affective in destroying tumors.This has been done in the usa and was wondering if we have anything like this in Australia and if so where? thank you

Hi Thanks Annie and Robyn for your comments I found out yesterday that I am about to embark on the chemo track - tried the radio and surgery tracks. When I was first diagnosed with stage 4 I was told chemo was for the end because it didn't help Melanoma. So after the initial shock, it is reassuring that people are getting benefits from it and that it is not to bad. 
Although I can say that getting news like that then going to a xmas party is not a good mix - I am feeling very sorry for my head and myself this morning

Thank you for the information I dont know if I will have to have chemo as yet I hope not. 
Just a question does your hair grow back if you lose it?

Thank you Annie for your information. I have just been informed that my melanoma is back and am travelling up to see the specialist tomorrow. My GP has told me that more than likely I will have further surgery and definately chemo. I am very posisite about this, as I think that I am lucky to live in a place where there is treatment and the availability of that wonderful thing called hope. My family are all devistated and can't understand my rationale. But I really do think that if I remain positive and remained informed about available options I can only benefit. Good luck to you Annie and thank you for your valuable information

My son had Interferon from Jan 2007 for 12 months. The 1st month is hard but if you look after the liver you seem to cope better. Lots of fresh juices like carrot apple and celery also eat bananas. Heaps of fluids. The 11 months was a lot easier he took his shots at home and went straight to bed, some fever chills, mostly like the flu. In general he went to Uni, played soccer and cricket. 
James

Does any one know what it is like to have interferon

My husband is having Fotemustine which is a drug administered like any other normal chemo drug. This is not a trial drug and it is given as one of the last treatments available for Melanoma - not as a cure but to give you more time. The treatment takes about 1 hr to go through the drip with about half hour prior with pre meds. Not painful to have except for putting the catheta in when the veins are not good. Side effects have been minimal for him. Feeling a bit off in general, taste buds go weird, has not lost is hair totally but it has thinned. He snoozes a lot more during the day and his sleep pattern is a bit out of wack. Treatment is once every week for 3 weeks then a break for 5-6weeks then one treatment every 3 weeks. His first scan was after the 6 week break and we were told his large tumor in his liver was shrinking and dieing. When this happens it then can cause other problems in the body as the liver changes. 2 weeks after the scan he had fluid in his lungs, legs and feet which was then treated in hospital by anti-biotics. All treatments do have some side effects but everyone is different. You have to decide how you feel about all these drugs and what they do, but I know my husband knows it has done some good for him and he feels he then has hope and his spirits rise. If he wasn't doing this treatment he feels as if he is not fighting the disease and can feel a difference in his spirit.

I had a largish melanoma removed last Decedmber and I am going in for tests and ultrasounds later this month, but I'm under the impression that chemo does not work for melanoma (maybe it's the type I have). However, I've had chemo for breast cancer, I was supposed to have six cycles but only managed three. It was not as bad as it sounds or as bad as I thought it might be. Chemotherapy has been tailored to be quite specific in treating the cancer, and anti-nausia drugs are administered with the chemo. The oncology nurses and staff are fantastic people: the day ward was quite a happy, lively place. I was very frightened when I arrived for the first treatment but they put me at ease as, did the other patients in the day ward who were in for their treatment. As I have said the chemo is quite specific for the cancer, so one person's experience of chemotherapy will be very different to anothers. On a practical side, I would recommend the use of a port-a-cath. This is a devise that was surgically inserted in my chest wall with a catheter going into a major vein (I think for a better description you should ask the doctor/oncologist or look it up on a reputible internet site). The port-a-cath is then used for the administration of the chemo, taking blood for testing, giving other IV drugs (etc), instead of using a vein in the arm. (I got a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in my arm after the second treatment, thats when they put the port-a-cath in.) As for the nausia, it was not a problem! I was, believe it not, hoping to loose a bit of weight but I actually gained weight. I was still able to go walking and enjoy a glass of wine! I lost my hair, eyebrows and eyelashes but got to experiment with new hair (wigs); I even got a 'brazillian' without the use of wax! Hair loss does not happen with all chemotherapy. I think that my attitude to the treatment helped me through: that is being positive and accepting. Sometimes a hard thing to do! Humour is also helpful. The other thing that I would recommend is to do some research from reputible sources. Know what drugs you are getting (they'll tell you anyway) and what to expect. Put your supports in place: cooking, cleaning, shopping, chatting with pals, workplace. Get rid of whatever may be stressful. Meditate or do relaxation. And try to maintain the routines that you are happy with. Find someone you can talk to who listens well. Above all try to remain positive, but accept that there will down times just don't let them overwhelm you.