Hello phlip,

Welcome to Cancer Chat! I just wanted to wish you good luck for your appointment with the dermatologist next week.

You can also find out more on our website here about cancer of the outer ear - it includes information about treatment and about melanoma staging.

[@VikkiS13]‍ posted a couple of months ago here and she might be a good person for you to talk to as her mum has been diagnosed with outer ear melanoma and had to have two operations to remove it. I hope you will get to chat to others here who have had a similar diagnosis and that they will share with you how their appointment with the dermatologist went, what questions they may have asked. They will also be able to tell you more about the treatment they received.

Keep us updated if you get a moment!

Best wishes,

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

Hi Philip,

The dermatologist will arrange for you to have a Wide Local Excision (WLE) where a larger area will be removed to ensure they have caught all the cells. Depending on how large an excision is needed & the location they may suggest a skin graft. You may also be offered a Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy to be done at the same time as the excision. This is where they inject dye into the area of the melanoma and scan to see which node(s) the dye drains to. They will remove these nodes (usually between 1 - 3) for biopsy. If a SLNB is offered it's your choice if you want to have it. Not all consultants offer it & not all patients accept it as it's more a Staging Tool than a treatment.

At your appointment they will also examine your lymph nodes in the neck, head & upper torso to ensure there is no swelling of the nodes. They should also check you for any other suspicious moles. The WLE (& SLNB) are usually carried out between 2 - 4 weeks of your appointment but it's the holiday season now so don't be surprised if it takes a little longer. You will then get an appointment to go back to the derm for the results.

As for prognosis - your Stage is 1b which is very optimistic for a good outcome. I could quote you stats but I don't hold much with them as I have bucked every stat going! Every patient's diagnosis and journey is different but you are in a good position so, unless something nasty is found lurking in a node, you will have regular check ups & hopefully be discharged after 5 years. 

I hope this has helped. Feel free to ask if you need more info. This website (CRUK ) and Macmillan are good websites to find more info too.

Good luck,

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)

Hey Angie

I hope you are doing well.  My regular doctor removed most of the spot that turned up Melenoma. When I go to my appointment tomorrow(which is with a surgeon) will they peform another incision to make sure they got all of the Cancer?  This my sound like a crazy question, but what lymph nodes are near the outer ear?  I don't have any tonsils-so any information would sure be a help!! Thanks so much for responding and I hope you are doing well!!!

Thanks

Phlip

Hi Phi!ip,

I'm doing well thanks. Yes they will do a wider excision but not at this appointment. If your GP removed the melanoma (I'm hoping they specialise in melanoma as GPS should not remove them) the consultant will be going over the results, explaining the next steps and checking you over.

The nodes that drain lymph from the ear are behind the ear, in front of the ear (under the cheekbone) and in the neck below the ear. Tonsils aren't like regular nodes which drain and filter lymphatic fluid so tonsils aren't usually involved. Lymph flows towards the heart so it flows downwards from the head to the neck, upwards from the legs/lower torso or down and across from the arms.

Hope this helps,

Angie

I thought I would also tag [@Sandybeaches]‍ who has just joined the forum and was diagnosed with 1b melanoma in the right ear - exactly like [@phlip]‍ if I remember rightly and even on the same ear ;)

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator