I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis.

Was it an existing mole/lesion or a new one? Have they given you a Stage yet? How deep was it and have they told you if it was ulcerated, as the depth & any ulceration affect the stage.

The best internet resource is this site and the Melanoma Focus website which is very thorough.

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)

Hi Angie. When I got the first diagnosis they told me it was 6.5mm deep. I have now got the pathology report which says it is pT4a and  It’s non ulcerating invasive spindle cell malignant melanoma. Braf gene info isn’t through yet. Thank you for your message. 

That means you are currently Stage 2a unless the SLNB shows any spread. I've sent you a friend request. If you accept it I can send you some more information.

That means you are currently Stage 2a unless the SLNB shows any spread. I've sent you a friend request. If you accept it I can send you some more information.

Hello. My facial melanoma diagnosis was on 22nd August. My subsequent MRI and CT were clear but because it was a deep melanoma at 6.5mm they want to do the sentinel lymph node biopsy and WLE to see if it has spread locally and also to determine what further treatment I need. I haven’t got a date for these procedures yet and I because the other scans were clear I am not sure the proposed surgeon feels it is a priority.  Generally the info seems to say it should be within 4-6 weeks of the diagnosis but I am at 4 weeks now and no sign of the surgery appointment. Is this normal? . Thank you 

Delays for treatment are occurring and vary around the country. The Faster Diagnosis Standard states that treatment should start within 31 days of being told the treatment plan so you are coming up to the 31 day target. I suggest you give your CNS (Cancer Support Nurse) a call (if you were given their details) or the consultant's secretary a call to ask when you can expect the surgical appointment through. Sometimes you have to pester them to get it sorted quicker - what my dermatologist used to call 'patient empowerment' which she was fully supportive of !! Good luck.

Hi Angie. It’s been a while. I wanted to thank you for setting me up with the melanoma mates group. It has been really useful. The only thing is I don’t post because I cannot get my head around whether it is confidential  or not. 
I had the WLE and SLNB in November but infortunately the cancer is back after only 5 months. It is a desmoplastic spindle cell melanoma which has a high reoccurrence rate  and now I am facing further treatment to be decided. 
I just wanted to check in if that Ok about the confidentiality element of Facebook. Many thanks Cathy

Hi Cathy. I'm sorry to hear your melanoma has recurred again, especially so quickly. I'm sure your team will put together a good treatment plan & hopefully it will stop any further recurrences. Please don't worry about confidentiality - the group is a private group so no one, especially your family & friends, can access anything in the group. In fact, they can't even see that you are a member of the group, so you don't need to worry. Good luck with your treatment & please let us know how you are getting on xx