Greetings from Steve and Sandy Aholt in Papua New Guinea,
During the time of waiting for the biopsy report, God gave us peace. Our body belongs to God and it is His choice as to what happens with our bodies. Our desire is to glorify God in our body, and in our spirit, which are God’s [1 Corinthians 6:20]. Sandy was given the peace to leave the field if necessary.
We received an email reply about the histopathology report on the mole that was removed from Steve’s right posterior flank. The doctor started off stating that there was bad news and good news.
The bad news was that the specimen removed was superficial spreading malignant melanoma.
The good news was that the specimen removed [61 x 34 x 12 mm] had sufficient clear margins surrounding the melanoma that was removed. Thus, there is no evidence for any further testing. We do need to continue to monitor Steve’s skin for any other changes that may occur for the next five years.
This advice was given in accordance with the recent article Guidelines on Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Melanoma, dated June 2013. It stated, “For a thin melanoma, Breslow thickness less than 1 mm, there is insufficient evidence for sentinel lymph biopsy although it may be considered in selected high risk patients.” Praise the Lord that Steve is not a “high risk patient.”
We are so very glad that Sandy noticed this skin lesion change, on my back, and that we sought a doctor’s advice. During our last furlough, Sandy was given a sheet titled The ABCDs of Self-Examination that was reprinted with permission from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. This sheet has color photos of normal looking moles and freckles compared to those that have changed. If you would like a scanned copy of this please write and request one.
During this three week period of waiting for the biopsy results and doctor recommendation, we began preparing Plan B to depart the field for an early medical furlough. However, at present we are back to Plan A for our regular furlough in April 2015, unless there are other changes that may occur. Please pray that God would give us both this same thinking. At present, Sandy does not have the peace to wait until next year.
Listening for the trump and praying,
Steve and Sandy Aholt