I noticed a large lesion on my back in late June and went to my GP who immediately did a rapid referral to my local hospital dermatology department. I had my first appointment there a couple of weeks later and was told I would need to have it removed, I did mention that I was suffering back and armpit pain at this time. Initially I was told there could be an 6-8 week wait to have it removed but I was fortunate to have it taken out after only a two week wait. Just under 3 weeks later I saw on my Patient Portal that a MDT report had been sent to my GP it said I had an invasive Nodular Melanoma with a Breslow thickness of 5, Mitatonic 5mm2 and it was T4a.  3 days later I had a phone call from the Dermatology department asking if I would accept a call from my dermatologist which I said was OK he called an hour later, he said he was calling as if I would have had a face to face it would have been sometime before I could have one as the department was very busy!
, I couldn’t hear clearly what he was saying but I believe he told me my melanoma was malignant and that I would need a CT and then more skin removed from the surrounding area of my scar which could be done at the hospital or a WLE and lymph gland tests under general anaesthetic at a larger hospital in my area. He said it was for me to decide and that he would send me leaflets together with an email address if I had any questions and that I would need to come back to dermatology for the next 5 years.

3 days later I’ve received nothing in the post and no CT appointment date. Unfortunately my GP is on annual leave so I can’t talk to him he’s been my GP for over 25 years and very good.

i did find an email address for the Dermatology department on my MDT and messaged them yesterday explaining I was very anxious and needed more information about my diagnosis but perhaps I’d read the MDT wrong and it was not as serious as I thought and if so apologised for bothering them. Trying to call my dermatologists secretary is impossible I just get an answerphone!.

I did wonder if I’d been assigned a CNS but don’t know where to check.

And wonder whether I could have a blood test for BRAF (it was mentioned on the MDT.

am I being over anxious?  Is this a normal way any other people have been diagnosed? I’m feeling rather alone in all this and it is affecting my sleep and daily life ( I can’t concentrate on much for long) I’ve read that this Melanoma is bad for spreading quickly and as it’s been nearly 2 months since I first went to my doctor and it was nearly 6 weeks before it was removed has it spread????

thanks for reading it’s helped to share x