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Melanoma with 28mm lung nodule diagnosis

Lol147
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Hi, immediately following successful papillon treatment for rectal cancer a follow up full body CT scan found a node in my right lung. This node has grown fast and is now 28mm big. After PET scan and biopsy this has been identified as melanoma. So, my understanding is that I have melanoma which is advanced and has mestastasised into my lung. No other cancers were found during the PET scan - no lymph nodes or my bowel showed any abnormalities, which was very good news.

I'm awaiting an appointment to see a melanoma specialist before my treatment plan is formed. At the moment, it's looking like immunotherapy (possibly combined with other methods) will be most likely the chosen path while surgery to remove the lung node remains an option.

I'm trying to get my head round all this and welcome your feedback. I'm assuming that I have stage 4 melanoma? If so, my understanding is that while there have been big improvements in treatment - esp immunotherapy - this is incurable? The plan will be to control the melanoma for as long as possible? I'm trying to understand what my prognosis may be but not expecting you to have a crystal ball :-)

I'm a 71 year old male.

Thanks in advance.

  • Hello and thanks for posting

    I’m sorry to read about your situation and can appreciate this must be a worrying time for you.

    Melanoma that has spread to the lung is a Stage 4 cancer. Although Stage 4 melanoma is often not considered curable, it is now much more treatable than it used to be. Many people respond well to immunotherapy, sometimes for many years.

    We have some information on our website on how advanced melanoma may be treated that you may find useful.

    I can appreciate you wanting to know more about your prognosis. This is really a question best answered by your specialist team. This is because they are familiar with all your medical details and will know so much more about your individual situation.

    Doctors base their assessment of someone's outlook/prognosis on their experience of looking after other patients with the same cancer. This will vary to a degree, depending on a person’s age, extent of their cancer, their general health and whether they able to have treatment and how the cancer responds to it. But it's important to bear in mind they cannot give exact timelines as cancer behaves differently in every person.

    We do have some information on prognosis on our website. These figures can provide a broad overview, but they cannot predict a person’s individual situation.

    I hope this is of some use to you. Give us a ring if you want to talk any of this over. The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

    Kind regards,

    Celene

  • Offline in reply to CRUK Nurse Celene

    Thanks Celene, more or less what I thought but good to have it confirmed. Hoping for the best. 

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