Hi,

I'm sorry you are going through this anxious time. I know you will be terrified it's spread because you'd had it for a few months but it's not always the case so try not to fixate on that. The thing to focus on is that it's now been removed. You will next have a Wide Local Excision where they remove a larger margin of tissue to ensure that any stray cancer cell has been mopped up. You will also be offered a Sentinel Lymph Node biopsy - this is done at the same time as the WLE. They inject the area of the melanoma with dye and track where the nearest node(s) is - they then remove the node(s) for biopsy to see if the melanoma has travelled there. Once they have the results they can then Stage your melanoma and decide on a treatment plan. If no cells are found in the WLE and SLNB you will have regular check ups for 5 years. If melanoma is found in a node they will scan you and then start adjuvant drug treatment which helps to prevent melanoma returning. All this will be explained on Tuesday.

I know it's a lot to take in but please be assured that treatment is so much better these days than it once was. I will send you a friend request - if you accept it and you want to chat we can do so by pm. Good luck on Tuesday and please let us know how you get on.

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)

Thank you for your reply, I'm really lost for words.

I feel fairly healthy , I don't have any other odd lumps or large moles , just the one that popped up out of knowhere, I honestly didn't think I'd be sitting here having to write this, I'm not a sunbather or sunbed user.

I had a chat with the consultant earlier who pretty much explained what you have , he said I'm in the best care now now that it's been confirmed, I've just got to hope it's not spread.  The waiting is awful, I don't think I will sleep much between now and Tuesday.

Try to keep busy over the weekend. Pamper or treat yourself to try and take your mind off the wait. 

A small amount of melanoma cases are caused by genetics rather than UV damage. This may be the case for you.

Good luck on Tuesday xx

I now have to go in for my MRI on Sunday, things are going very quickly.  Im hoping they will have the results for Tuesday and then I can get a proper feel for what I have.  Praying it's good news.