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Just been diagnosed with melanoma stage 1b

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Hi everyone,  

I keep getting waves of panic and i am absolutely terrified. 
I have been told by the macmillan skin nurse, that it’s all been removed and that there were no cells in any blood vessels and was was all clear.  However i still have to have a sentnel lymph removed and tested and more taken from my leg. 
These waves of panic send me into a spin as it’s the waiting and it will be now another month before they want to see me to discuss the operation and treatment and then another month before the operation. 
Its the waiting and thinking it’s going to get worse snd into my system with all the waiting for the results that’s a nightmare I’m just dreading being in this place. 
Thank you for reading my post. 

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    I'm so sorry that you have these further waits for the pre-op and then the WLE & SLNB. All I can suggest is that you ring your consultant's secretary or nurse & say you are available to take any last minute cancellations that may come up (if you can drop everything within a few hours notice). Coming up to the holidays some people cancel their appointments so they don't miss their holiday & you may be lucky enough to get seen and dealt with a little earlier.

    Meanwhile, if you find your mental health is getting worse with the worry, speak to your GP to see if they can prescribe anything to help. Also take a look at  https://melanomafocus.org/melanoma-patient-treatment-guide/ which also has a nurses helpline if you need to talk to someone. There is also a counselling charity for melanoma patients - take a look at https://melanoma-me.org.uk/about-melanoma-me 

    I'm also happy to chat if it will help. Good luck and please let us know how you get on,

    Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)

  • Offline in reply to AngieT

    Hello Angie, thank you for your reply, I will contact the nurse in the morning and just ask to put me forwards for any cancellations that might occur.  This is all very new to me and I seem to have strayed into a territory I’m not familiar with, so it’s been difficult to mentally deal with. I will let you know how I get on. Thank you. 

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