Hi,

Good luck with your results tomorrow, hopefully they will be fine.

If not, they should be able to tell you your Stage which is assessed by the depth the melanoma has grown. The next step for any melanoma is further surgery - a Wide Local Excision where a safe margin of tissue is removed from the surrounding area. If the Stage is In situ (not grown into the next layer of skin) or it's Stage 1, they are classed as Early Stage and regular monitoring takes place over a short period. The chance of it returning or spreading is very, very small. If Stage 2 (deeper in depth) or Stage 3 (there is evidence it's spread to lymph nodes) a period of drug treatment is given to try and stop it from returning or spreading. These treatments are showing great results. All this will be explained and you will be given the details of a Specialist Cancer Nurse that can be contacted if you need any questions answered.

Crossing everything for you. Please let us know how you get on.

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)

mkam0617 

Hi i totally get where your coming from, i was 48 when i was diagnosed with stage 3a malignant melanoma in my left lower leg in may 2021, i was shocked frightened upset angry all the things went through my head, am i going to die ive not arranged my funeral what about my kids and grandkids what about my husband will he re-marry, i thought i was the only person in the world with this. My journey went like this;-

May 2021 after a punch biopsy i was told it was malignant melanoma, they then have to determine how deep it goes into your skin, which then becomes the "stage" - now dont panic if they say Stage 3 or 4 etc as this isnt on the same scale as other cancers, this just determines how deep it is,

They then scheduled my wide leg excision for a week later this is basically cutting around the area here the lesion was and sending that skin off to be analysed, i had a fantastic cancer specialist nurse, i had the surgery and they left it as an open wound (just cleaned out by nurses every other day and dressed) i then recieved the results 3weeks later theyd got it and it was a stage 3,  BUT they wanted to do another wide legged excision bigger than the first, so big i would have to have a skin graft from my thigh and to remove and test my lymph nodes in my groin to ensure theyd got it all. I had no hesitation in saying yes to the second surgery, they also leave this as an open wound. This was then done 8 weeks after my original one. Now this all sounds horrific and at the time i was crying daily. THIS IS NORMAL. DO NOT PANIC.

Everything was explained along the way, the cancer nurse specialists are amazing and i even had their emails and numbers to contact at any time. 

after the second surgery my lymph nodes were clear but they found a microsattelite in my second excision, this means that there was a tiny bit of cancer there so thats good that they got it out,but they then had to upgrade my cancer to a stage 3c, just remember theyre doing every bit of surgery to help rid of the C. 

After this shock, again i cried, which again is NORMAL.

I was then offered Immunotherapy, which basically targets any cancer cells inside your body and destroys them before they mutate into the big C, its basically in lamens terms a back up plan,  I hesitated, what did this mean, is my hair guna fall out, am i now going to be hooked up to a machine for hours sitting with a needle in my arm?

The treatment is so easy, dont hesitate if they offer it to you, a needles put in the back of your hand and ur hooked up to a bag of Pembro (immunotherapy drug) for 30mins then you go home, no sickness in my case, but depending on which drug you get it affects you in different ways.

Ive had Immunotherapy for a year now, every 6 weeks, I have scans on my head and torso every 12 weeks (again its scary but necessary) regular body checks for moles and an Oncologist who is a star, the hospital ring me every 6 weeks to check on me as Immunotherapy comes with side effects BUT i was lucky enough not to have any of them except for itchy skin and the occasional headache/tired. I celebrated my 50th bday last august and Im doing great.

Its such a different journey for each person, DO NOT GOOLE, that was the very first thing my nurse told me, they are patient and kind and most of all let you speak and ask questions, its a scary journey but you can get through it. My final treatment is next friday, my final scan on feb 27th. It is not a death sentence, it feels like it is and your whole world caves in again.... THIS IS NORMAL.  Get a support system around you, get in touch with Macmillan, your nurses should give you contact numbers and ASK QUESTIONS, they will tell you the truth, no holds barred they will explain everything over and over until you know exactly what to expect. 

You may be fine and none of this will happen to you, mine was "just a mole" which bled and looked weird, i never thought it would happen to me, but we never do, and we certainly dont expect it to happen to us when it does. I wont say be strong becaue thats just stupid talk, you will feel vulnerable and maybe not want to talk to anyone for a while, but when you do find someone who knows exactly what your going through it helps a lot, my mum had cancer at 49, had it 4 times,twice in her boobs, had her boob off, had a brain tumour, had lymph node cancer and she is still with us and going strong at 75! you will get through this you will come out the other side. I have nerve damage in my groin and my lower leg, a scar which i think will never heal (it will, but takes nearly 2years!), i wear factor 50 sunscreen daily as my moisturiser, i dont sunbathe i use fake tan i dont purposly tan now, i holiday to relax i am self conscious yes about my scars but im here im with my kids and grandkids i see every day as a blessing and ive come through it out the other side. 

Im here if you want to talk, i hope everything goes ur way, if it doesnt and any of the above applies to you, just message me. 

sending love, light and crossing everything for you. 

Thank you so much for your thorough reply, I really appreciate it. Not long now, 1.5hrs till my appt, it will be a relief to know and deal with whatever comes next. 

I will let you know how I get on x

Thank you Angie, I will soon know and will let you know my results. 

Just breathe, I'm not going to say think positive because I know that's the most stupid thing to say, it's ok to be worried and scared, just don't leave your appointment until you are confident you know what happens next xx 

Thank you so much for your support. I cried all the way in the car to the appt, but had the best news. Its a benign junctional nevus. Thank goodness, I am sooo relieved. 

I wish you the very very best in your life :love: x

Hi Angie, 

I got the all clear, the diagnosis came back as a junctional nevus which is completely benign. I am so relieved. Thanks so much for your comments and support! 

All the very best :love:

Wonderful xx