What is a lymph test after melanoma has been diagniosed and will the results be in a format of % or neg/pos?
154958
It sounds like they're looking for malignant cells in the lymph nodes.  The lymphatics are a common pathway for cancers to spread, so a doc will typically biopsy or dissect a few lymph nodes near the cancer to look for tumor.  The result will be negative or positive, and they may specificy how many nodes are affected, and which nodes.  We're hoping that the cancer has not infiltrated any nodes.  I wish you the best of luck :)
641406
go to http://uk.ask.com/#subject:ask|pg:1 and chose "pictures" then type in melanoma and a whole bunch of pics come up.  Good luck
805881
unless he was sure you had an infection there was no need for an antibiotic.  The lymphoma test results are important.  Stay on top of the results and if you find yourself showing signs of an infection, usually fever is the best indicator, or if you see an obvious area where fluid is building up within a limb, then call your doctor ASAP and get an appointment.  \n\nKeep your body well hydrated and eat a healthy diet with exercise to keep things moving.\n\nhttp://www.lymphomainfo.net/lymphoma/symptoms.html
828497
The email that is going around is very misleading.  It is a test used primarily to track the effectiveness of treatment of a woman who has already been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  It is not effective for determining early stages of cancer.  Read attached:\n\nhttp://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blca-125b.htm
544995
you should go have another test done
141433
Well, it depends on the stage of cancer and how far it has spread, etc... But usually if it's detected early they do a lumpectomy followed by radiation and chemo. If it's bigger or has spread to the lymph nodes then they may have to do a masectomy followed again by radiation and chemo.
939038
I agree with every one else, try not to stress to much, and think positive, they may have picked a slight abnormality, which needs to be rechecked.\n\nPap tests are the best way to pick up infections and precancerous cells and abnormal cells. \n\nWishing you all the best and good luck!
1142045
False positive are common among HIV test and your body chemistry may bring up another false positve. \n\nI doubt you have anything to worry about but your stress is real, I freak out when the cholestarol levels are slighty high this is HIV/AIDS of course paranoia is required.
903038
From the experimental tests we know the following.\n\nP(test positive| is really positive) = 0.90\nP(test negative| is really positive) = 0.10\nP(test positive| is really negative) = 0.15\nP(test negative| is really negative) = 0.85\n\nWe are told the 0.40 of the individuals is cancer free.\n\nWe want to know what the probability that a randomally chosen individual who tests positive is re
694000
I think this would be considered as a negative test, talk to the doctor who ordered this test for you, good luck
694621
Yikes, there is misinformation here. I even clicked on the link in the first response, because I can't believe people are saying lymph nodes are in your breast. It's clear on the link page as well... The lymph nodes are under your arm. Your arm is near your breast so that's why the lymph nodes are often affected, and those underarm nodes could spread cancer if you don't get treatment. But no, there are no lymph nodes in your breast. They will test to see if the cancer has spread to the nodes in your underarm. There are also nodes near your cervical spine and the groin.\n\nMy sister is dealing with this right now. She had a 2cm tumor removed from her breast, and also 10 lymph nodes from under the arm. There was cancer in 2 nodes but 8 looked clear, so she'll have chemo and radiation to kill any cancer that might have been left behind after the surgery. It's scarey and the therapies are traumatic but chances are you will be cured.
846804
I can't answer your question specifically but can point you to an excellent resource for Melanoma patients. \n\nMelanoma Patients Information Page\nhttp://www.mpip.org/\n\nThey have an active Bulletin Board filled with patients and caregivers who would be better able to answer this question than anyone here:\n\nhttp://www.mpip.org/bb/bbindex.html\n\nYou can use the Search function on the Bulletin Board to locate all comments about IL-2 cancer treatments.\n\nGood luck!
935873
Not all high PSA results mean cancer! Sometimes you can't resolve it..I have a friend that has a reading of 6.5 and has been as high as 9...He has had it for several years gets checked at least 2 times a year and no change..Within the last 2 days there was news out concerning this vary topic..bottom line only a byop. can determine.  also an enlarged prostate doesn't mean cancer either..Just keep hanging with the Doctor and insist on semi annual checks both via blood and finger wave..If the Dr. says everything ok then it's ok..But if you still feel uncomfortable then go to another Doctor Specialist.. You can also ask for a byop..to either confirm your fears or negate them..Good Luck..Remember YOU are in charge of your own health not your Doctor..So make yourself feel good...
921000
Did you ask for an ultrasound?  Ultrasound is very good at seeing intramammary lymph nodes.  Remember that a radiologist has be very sure that your "lump" is benign to recommend a 6 month follow up.  Of course, nothing is a hundred percent, but a recommendation of a 6 month follow up is as close as you can get!  With all of the biopsy techniques available today, the radiologist would suggest that if he/she was uncomfortable with your mass.  A FN biopsy is not the test I would choose.  They are not very accurate, especially if this is a lump that is only seen on a mammogram, and cannot be felt.   Instead, if you decide to get a biopsy, look into stereotactic breast biopsy.  It is a simple, image guided biopsy which will yield surgical grade tissue samples.  Simply put, I would ask for an ultrasound, and if that also showed a lymph node, I would wait the six months.  If the ultrasound was inconclusive, I would ask for a stereo biopsy......
365428
Depends if you are doing flow cytometry testing, serology testing or DNA/PCR typing.  If you are doing serolgy testing, then usually you have pre-loaded serum panels on microplates that will be indicative of certain antigens.  You add the patients lymphocytes and incubate.  You then stain using a live dead stain, with fluorescent green indicating live cells (no cross reactivity) or red, indicating dead cells or a rejection reaction.  From these results you can decide which antige3ns the patient would potentially react (or not) with. That's the short answer as there are other lab protocols that encompass HLA testing.
799623
They need to remove the infected lymph node or shrink the cancer with radiation or chemotherapy.  If it has spread too far into lymph nodes that cannot be removed and cannot be shrunk by radiation or chemo then the survival chances are less. End stage cancer usually ends up in the liver lung or brain if it spreads from the primary tumor which sounds like the primary was in the throat. The lymphatic system spreads the cancer cells throughout the body so depending how far it has invaded the lymphatic system will determine the possibility of cure or mortality. Whoever is going through this needs comfort support and peace with God. Prayer will help!
970959
Registered Nurse here; Any change in mole, enlargement, change of color, texture, scab formation, etc.  Should immediately be evaluated by a dermatologist.  It could be cancer, however the odds are in your favor that it is not, however one never knows.  That's why it is so very important for a physician to evaluate this mole,  Dermatologist can sometimes tell just by the shape, color, etc, that it's of no significance, however if there is a question they will either biopsy it or remove it, either way it's sent for a pathology report to determine what type of cell growth is exhibited.  Please get it checked ASAP, and thanks for the opportunity to address such a well worded and important question.