Hi...I am new to this board...very glad I found it! I was wondering if anyone has had therapy which included Temazolamide and or Thalidomide? If you have, could you let me know how it was, any side effects, etc? My father, 81yrs, was diagnosed with Satge IV melanoma, upper left arm, in Febuary, 2003. It was fully resected, margins were clean, sentinal node biopsy done and no positive nodes at all!! We were extremely happy to say the least!!! His Oncologist suggested a yearly CT Scan and no other treatment needed at that time. A week ago, my father, told me about a large mass he had on upper chest area. Immediately we went to the surgeon, whom by the looks and characteristics of this mass said it looks like melanoma again, will know for sure after surgery nect week. That day we had a CT of abdomen, pelvis, and thorax. Chest is good!!! But liver showed possible mets to the liver. So this leads me here and my question about the therapy which includes Temazolamide and or Thalidomide, which I have been told is being used to treat this. Sorry this post is a bit long....am a bit freaked and scared to death by this...guess needed to vent a bit!!! So if anyone has gone through this and or any other treatment for malignant melanoma please respond!! I'd be very greatfull!! :)

I'm very sorry about this and know how scared and upset you are. I have been down the same road as you with my Dad and will keep you both in my prayers.

my dad goes for surgery this coming friday for excision of the mass. it has been really hard...worst part is my parents went on a trip to celebrate his 81st b-day and they have no clue about the possible liver mets...i am good friends with the surgeon and he felt no way would taking the trip make anything worse with my dads condition...all doctors involved said go on trip and enjoy...i felt the same way...you mentioned your dad...does he have malignant melanoma too??...did he undergo any type of treatment?? thanks for writing!!

Hi Renee..... hope your father's op goes well.

Do you know how they came to diagnose him at stage IV first time round? The docs must have noticed something had spread already. I am soon visiting my friend who is at same stage as your father and will try and find out about the therapies he has been on. He has mets to liver and brain now.

Good luck for Friday
Ktee

Renee, I'm glad your parents enjoyed the trip without the additional worry and I'm sure the surgeon is right.
Yes, my Dad had a MM removed from his upper back in 1996. It was very deep and the excision was extensive. He didn't go for any further treatment after his surgery mostly because he was very stubborn and "didn't believe in doctors". He lived for two years after surgery, had a good quality of life until the final couple of months when he became very tired and lost weight. He passed away at home, on home hospice, in 1998. We did a lot of arguing about being treated but he was in complete possession of all his faculties and refused.

last year my dad was at the dermatologist and he went there just to have a mole (he thought it was just a regular old mole) removed. it was a little on the large side. the dermatologist took one look at it and said you need to go to a surgeon, that it was melanoma. honestly no one really thought it was that bad. we went to a surgeon that i know and work with and they did the excision and biopsy in the office. it came back as stage IV. then we all started getting worried, and after i did some research i started freaking out! so then a week later, he went for a wide resection and sentinel node biopsy and all came back clean and nodes were negative. even the surgeon was surprised! he went to an oncologist, he recommended no treatment just a yearly ct scan. liver & the brain is where melanoma is said to go to first, so i am a nervous wreck!! i guess more so since i withheld this info from my parents so they could enjoy their trip. i have an older brother & sister. brother agreed with me about them going on trip but my sister disagrees. so it is hard. i am the baby of the family and the one who is the closet with both my parents, so it is so difficult to go through this and thinking of all the horrible things that could actually happen to my dad. sorry i write so much!!

ktee & saraly thank u so much for writing!! feels better when i can vent a bit! normally talk to parents several times a day!! and they have been away a week now...so need to talk!!! thanks for listening!!

Renee, go ahead and talk away that's what these boards are for. It's comforting to "talk" with others who are walking the same path. I do understand exactly how you feel and all I can advise is that you try to take one day at a time. The past is over and gone and cannot be changed no matter what you do so don't waste energy lingering there. The future cannot be controlled and worrying about it won't change it much either. Concentrate on today and conserve your energy. Do your homework, find the best doctor, write a list of questions and go from there.

Hello all

Have had chance to see my friend yesturday. He was looking v.frail but much improved since last time. He seems to have regained his faculties somewhat and feels "more in control of himself". He had MM removed last year but had no further treatment. I was kind of suspiscious when he told about that...... it turns out that docs told him it was stage IV which meant it had already spread to other parts of body. He didnt want any chemo as he wanted to stay in relatively good health for as long as poss and keep on working. His daughter also got married last year too and i think this had a lot to do with his discision. I believe he has kept this from his family as his wife seems to be totally shell-shocked from all this news. I do understand why he didnt tell anyone but a little voice inside me just says that maybe he was frightened and wanted it all to go away. I was about to launch into an "if only" but I am way too cancer weary to even venture down that pathway.

The treatment he is now getting is steroid based but it really has relieved his symptoms very well. I didn't press him on any other details renee so I am sorry i can't be more helpfull.

I am baby of family too. It's tough isnt it. I find that in my predicament people want to protect me but they really can't ..... I have to be double-strong and face up to the practicalities of living with 2 cancer patients. You mentioned about the family not totally agreeing with treatments and actions and so on. We are 3 siblings and all pretty strong-minded. At the start of mum's and husband's illness we all agreed that we would inevitably disagree and that where we do we need to talk things through and if no concensus is agreed then we must be guided by the doctors. For the most part it has worked out ok but I find the biggest stalling point is making sure everyone knows the same things ..... for instance I feel left out if my sister knows more about mum's treatment than I do and I am sure the feeling is mutual. It's a struggle but nothing a loving family can't overcome.

Good luck
Ktee

I'm so sorry for your situation....I have to say 1st that I don't think your dad has had the proper follow up care. Only 1 CT scan a year???? I have 2 Stage 1 melanomas and I see my oncologist (one of the top 3-4 in the world) every 3 months with blood work, and a chest x-ray every 6 months....he said if my cancers were any deeper, I would be getting CT scans of chest and brain, as well as some other preventative measures. Please get 2nd opinions with everything your dad is going through. It seems to me that he should have been followed up more thouroughly than he was.

Take care and god bless
Cathi