Hello Fordy23, 

I just wanted to welcome you to our forum. I am sorry to hear about your melanoma diagnosis and thought I would share this page with you from our website on melanoma and that it will be useful to you. If you have specific questions, our nurse helpline can be reached on this free number 0808 800 4040 Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. 

I hope [@AngieT]‍  won't mind me mentioning her story to you but she would be a great person for you to talk to and she is living proof that there is certainly light at the end of the tunnel. You are absolutely right though that it is important to resist the urge to consult Dr Google as it is not very reliable and will often bring up only the worst case stories. We've all done it, don't worry and all end up even more anxious after looking things up online!

I hope that you are able to sleep and eat better soon and that you will meet others on the forum who will talk to you about their own experiences and hopefully reassure you. If you see that you are really struggling, do talk to your GP about your difficulties sleeping and eating at the moment and the anxious state this has left you in. 

I hope you won't have to wait too long to get some definite answers. 

Best wishes, 

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

Hi,

I'm sorry I am just catching up with posts and you've been worrying all this time.

There is certainly light at the end of the tunnel. Firstly, around 95% of Stage 1b patients never have any further problems after their WLE and SLNB. I was one of the unlucky 5% but that was 11 years ago and I'm still here, fit and healthy, as a Stage 3 patient. Add to that the fact that treatments are now available to melanoma patients that weren't available 2 years ago so the future looks far more optimistic these days. 

Stop reading Dr Google, it's out of date with treatment information and survival statistics so will only depress you. This website, Macmillan and the British Association of Dermatologists are the best to read if you need more information. Meanwhile, if I can help with anything else just let me know.

Good luck with your surgery and please let us know how you get on.

Angie

Hi AngieT

Thank you so much for your message, I really needed it today.  Overthinking pretty much everything. Every ache, pain, tummy ache etc I think is down to the diagnosis when really it's probably more down to stress and anxiety. I really needed to hear your message though today so thank you. I hope that I hear quickly about the date for WLE and SLNB and then the results come through quickly and clear. I pray for everyone that they can get through their diagnosis as well. 
 

Do you worry about it coming back? Or do you get comfort in the management and making sure everything is kept a close eye on? I think that will be the only thing that will get me through it. I've already started to change so much of what I did before and I just want to get over this and have a new appreciation for life in general. 
 

Thank you again and glad you fought it and are here to help people like me 

Matt 

Hi Matt,

You will find that you are well monitored by your medical team at regular check ups. You will also be given the contact details for one of the specialist cancer nurses so that you can speak to them with any concerns or questions. Also, making any changes to your lifestyle will help you feel in control of your future health. Small changes like healthy eating, exercise etc will help your immune system fight any future problems. Be sun safe, using sunscreen, avoiding the hottest time of the day and taking a Vitamin D supplement are all advised.

We all worry that it may return but we are shown how to check out skin so that we find things quickly and get them dealt with quickly.

Angie