Hi Beebo, 

I was also recently diagnosed with Stage 1a, 0.2 mm thickness. I'm really glad your WLE went well and came back clear. If you don't mind me asking, how much tissue did they take? 

Lucky

Hi Beebo,

That's wonderful news. Please take comfort in the fact your melanoma was Stage 1a and your WLE was clear. That means it was caught before it could grow deep & break away into the surrounding tissue. There is a 95% chance that you will have no further problem in the future so that's great. I know many people who were Stage 1 like yourself and they are still fine many years later.

Don't keep researching & worrying as you will only waste your life worrying about something that will very probably never happen. Just see this as a learning curve with regards to checking your moles every month & contacting your GP immediately you see something that's changed. Also learn & practice more sun safety as most melanomas are caused by sun damage - especially don't use sunbeds.

Enjoy life,

Angie x

Thanks Angie,

I really needed to hear that, it's gave me comfort knowing some statistics rather then the stories I've been reading. Puts it into perspective! 
I'm more panicking about the fact I have no life insurance, I could kick myself I never got any took out long before now! 
ive started using altruist 50 on my and my little one, it's great! I just reapply throughout the day, I do panic now if I'm in full sun. Hopefully one day these anxieties will lessen though. 
hope you're doing ok x

At Stage 1a you may find companies that will insure you but most won't until you've been clear for 5 years. It's worth contacting Macmillan who may have a list of insurers worth contacting (they have one for travel insurance). If you make some enquiries & they all say '5 years clear' then you will have to wait until then. xx

Thank you. Having a ring round this week! Just got off the phone to my cancer nurse, I've had a very small skin coloured lump on my foot for a while now but not thought anything of it until everything happened. Sent photos via email and hopefully consultant is getting back to me tomorrow. I just feel constantly worried about everything on my body, guessing this is very normal though! Xx

Good luck, hopefully it will be nothing to worry about. Spots, lumps etc can appear on the foot for many reasons so try not to worry. Let's know how you get on

Angie x

Nurse called back this morning to say my consultant isn't concerned but if I'm overly anxious about it to speak to my gp. I think I'd feel much better if I had my full body check but she doesn't know when that will be due to covid and being extremely busy. I think it might be worth going private for a while. I'm checking every inch of me every day and my anxiety is through the roof! Has anyone else had private checks? X

You can get private mole mapping & checks but you may find that there is a delay on that too. At the moment most private hospitals are atill being used by the NHS due to Covid & they aren't carrying out private consultations etc. It's still worth ringing a few up to see. xx

Hi Beebo,

Like you, after my Stage 1a diagnosis, I am obsessively worrying about every single mole or tiny fleck of anything on my body, even if it's been there for years, and even when I have close-up pictures of it dating back all the way to 2014 showing nothing has changed. I think this is just the way I am processing everything, and sounds like you are going through the same thing. I have to keep reminding myself that the actual cancer has been excised completely (still waiting for my WLE though). The good thing is that I now know to be vigilant. I do know that it's an extremely worrying time, though. 

I am also considering going private after my diagnosis, but like Angie said, there is a delay and I can't get any appointment until near Christmas time. Given how swiftly my GP dealt with my skin concern the last time, which led to excision of my melanoma within 1.5 weeks of me reporting it, I think for now I will continue taking photos myself, and being vigilant, and calling my GP as soon as something feels iffy. 

Lucky