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Awaiting tests for vulva/melanoma concerns

BlueSkies21
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Hi,

I'm having a really hard time getting my head around things at the moment. 

I'm a 29 year old female, with a few different concerns going on. One is vulva cancer, and the other is melanoma.

The vulva worry:

I have had itchiness in my vulva for over 18 months, it's daily but not all the time, and hasn't really gotten better or worse during this time. It's more on the left side (on the labia minora, majora & clitoris). 

I had a baby at the start of the year, and through the pregnancy (most of 2020!) I have been trying to get to the bottom of the issue. I've been prescribed all types of creams, including steroid creams, which never worked. The nurse, GP and gyno said they couldn't see anything, the only thing anyone noted was that it looked a little inflamed. 

Well this last Monday I had an appt with a dertmatologist which I had pushed for, to look at the vulva area (and also to do a mole check). However, on the day of the appt I somehow found a lump when showering, but on the right side of my labia majora, almost where it joins to my leg/groin. I couldn't believe I'd missed it - it's hard, about the size of a pea, and feels fixed to the skin but movable underneath, if that makes sense. 

The dermatologist couldn't work out what the lump was, after poking and prodding a lot (which was quite sore), she suggested the best thing would be to have an ultrasound to check. That was last Monday, and I'm yet to get a letter or anything for the referral, though I checked today with the radiology dept and they told me they'd recieved the referral, but as it was with a consultant it hasn't been booked yet. She did say there were two scans they were doing, one of the pelvis and one of the groin. Queue onset panic whilst waiting for the appt.

Mole/melanoma:

The dermatology appt was also to check out a mole I had down near my perenium/butt cheek, which is a fairly recent discovery so had worried me - it pertrudes and also I'm sure this has grown in size so I wanted to get it checked. She ended up doing a full body check, and didn't like the look of a big mole in the middle of my back (had a dermal biopsy of this years ago which came back clear). She wanted to get that one off to check, and also the mole I'd raised concerns about. I'd asssumed as the big mole had already been biopsied albeit years ago, it wasn't a concern. So again a bit blindsided there.

I have the double mole exicion booked for next wednesday (31/03) which was a lot quicker than I was expecting (naturally this also worries me!)

I feel horrible. I suffer with health anxiety anyway, and now I actually have something going on I just can't deal with it. I have a baby girl and now having recovered from the c-section, I was looking forward to time with her seeing her grow. I just keep crying when my imagination spirals out of control.

I know there's no diagnosis yet and it could all be benign, but I just can't help panicking. There's just so much going on and I'm trying to look after my 3 month old while processing - my husband is so wonderful but nothing can really help me until I have concrete information.

Really just looking for some reassurance or similar stories, losing my mind a bit :(

BS21

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    Hi,

    I'm sorry that you have two health worries to contend with. I can't comment on the vulval problem I'm afraid as I have no experience of this.

    With reference to the lymph node - don't panic - it's common to check the pelvic nodes when checking the groin nodes because they are close together and, if the groin node is cancerous, they want to check it's not spread to the pelvic nodes. It's better to get them all checked at the same time.

    I would have hoped that your previous mole that was biopsied would have been completely removed at the time. It's rare for a benign mole to then turn cancerous but they need to check it - hopefully it's fine. They will remove both moles completely and because of their location you will need some help with your little one for the first week or two - the position of the one on the back will need to start healing before you can lift anything heavier than a full kettle.

    75% of patients seen by dermatology are given a clean bill of health so hopefully your moles will come back benign. Try to distract yourself whilst waiting - meditation, mindfulness, yoga or just a long walk in the fresh air with your little one will help take your mind off it for a while. Hopefully you won't be waiting long. Good luck and please let us know how you get on,

    Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient)

  • Offline in reply to AngieT

    Hi Angie,

    Thanks for taking the time to reply!

    I don't really know a lot about where the lymph nodes are in the pelvis/groin, but that's understandable that they'd check both if they are near eachother. I'm just hoping to hear when I have the scan booked soon so I have a date to work towards.

    I vaguely remember at the time of having the mole in my back biopsied, they suggested the dermal punch due to the location making an excision difficult - though I'd have rather had that done then than now! My husband is pretty adament that it's looked like that since the biopsy, as it's a large mole it left basically a ring around where the sample was taken so understandibly stood out to the dermatologist. Hopefully like you say as it's come back as benign in the past it should be ok, fingers crossed. Thanks for the insight into the aftercare too - I've only ever had a mole burnt off or dermal punched so I don't really know what to expect from this kind of op. Will have to rope in the parents for some help!

    I'm going to try and conciously stop myself from spiralling thoughts, lots of distraction is needed so I'm glad the easter holiday's are coming up! 

    I'll absolutley keep you updated, thanks again for the kind words x

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