Hi,

I'm so sorry that you are facing all this so long after your GP dismissed it. I don't have subungal melanoma (mine is subcutaneous - the skin type) but I know a few people who do have this type. It's actually uncommon so hopefully yours will come back clear but it's no comfort to you at the moment.

If it is subungal melanoma the treatment is the same as for all melanoma - more surgery (a wide local excision WLE) to remove further surrounding tissue to ensure all cancer cells have been mopped up - however the WLE won't be carried out if they took a much wider area of tissue on the first occasion, which sounds to have happened with you. Dependant on the depth the melanoma has grown will depend if they offer a Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy (SLNB) - if the melanoma is more than 1mm in depth they may offer it. This is where they inject a dye into the area where the mole was & they track where the dye travels in the lymphatic system. The first node it shows in will be the Sentinel Node & they will remove it to see if any cells have spread into the lymphatic system. All this then enables them to determine the Stage of the melanoma. If there is no spread to the Sentinel node and/or the mole was not deep, it's classed as Stage 1 or 2 - early stage. Treatment then is regular checks for a period of time to ensure there is no recurrence or later spread. All this will also apply to the second mole you had removed. If it's spread to the lymphatic nodes but no further then it's Stage 3, a spread to other parts of the body (organs etc) is Stage 4. Stage 3 patients may have a full surgical removal of the nodes (mine were removed from my groin & pelvis) to try & stop any further spread. All Stage 3 patients now (since a year ago) also have a year of adjuvant drug therapy - drugs to help stop it coming back. Stage 4 patients get this therapy too.

Research & treatment for melanoma has been moving quickly in the last few years - I was Stage 1 in 1996 & Stage 3 since 2009 so I have seen many changes, all for the better, since I was diagnosed. These drug therapies are starting to show great success so it's not as desperate as it once was. 

You now need to distract yourself whilst waiting for the results - hopefully it will be nearer 4 weeks than 9 weeks - so keep busy, do lots of things with your family, pamper/be kind to yourself & don't Dr Google - it can't keep up with all the good stuff that's happening in the melanoma world and it will just depress you. Good luck and please let us know how you get on. If you want to chat just send me a Friend request.

Angie x