Melanoma - Swollen lymph node?

Hello! 

It's my first time posting in this forum! I'm 36 and was diagnosed with 1A melanoma (0.5mm) a year ago, followed by another in-situ a couple of months later. Almost a year later, I finally get into the groove of not thinking too much about the diagnosis, when this morning I noticed a pea sized lump in my arm pit (same side as the 1a melanoma). It's tender to touch, and I can feel it more when my arm is raised. I haven't had any recent illnesses so of course fearing the worst! My (fantastic) consultant suggested waiting 1-2 weeks in case it's an inflamed hair follicle (he has said the risk of 1A spreading is negligible?). Has anyone had experience of a lymph node spread from a stage 1A? The small lump is in the centre of the arm pit, and my 1A was on my abdomen so I'd have thought any melanoma cells would hit a lymph node further down in the arm pit first? Perhaps that's not a thing, I don't know. 
Any advice or experience, I'd love to hear from you!

  • Hell TasheeJ123

    I'm sorry to hear that you find yourself in the awful land of limbo waiting to see if this lump subsides or if the Consultant feels that it needs further investigation. It's great to know that he has been so supportive and at this point has tried to offer some reassurance about things. We know though that waiting can be really difficult and it's natural to feel worried. 

    I'm going to tag in one of our members [@AngieT]‍ who has been living with melanoma for more than 10 years. She is far more knowledgeable than I am about the condition and is great at offering advice and support to members on the forum who have/had a diagnosis of melanoma. I'm sure she'll pop along when she gets the chance. 

    You might also want to think about having a chat with one of our team of nurses. I'm sure they will be happy to talk things through with you and offer any information and support that they can. If you'd like to speak with them they're available Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm on 0808 800 4040. 

    Do let us know how you get on. 

    Best wishes, 
    Jenn
    Cancer Chat moderator 

  • Thank you for the response, Jenn. The awful land of limbo is a good way to describe it! I have read some of Angie's replies to others - It's easy to get caught up in thinking the worst but Angie helps put perspective on it, which is what I think I need! :)

    Thanks again for replying!