I've created this timeline retrospectively; I wish I had known more and done more about getting it checked a LOT earlier.
It was probably about 2009 I noticed a weird black squiggle thing just under the skin on my labia, about the same time my partner asked me how I managed to get bruised 'there'. Checking every now and then it seemed like there was a dark patch, but looking in the mirror while using clippers on my pubic hair, it wasn't much different to small patches of slightly thicker pubic hair.
By 2010 it looked like a flat wart, a bit bigger than a 5p piece, and I made an appointment with my GP to check it. He examined me and said he didn't think it was a wart as he could see no vein feeding it, but referred me to a dermatology clinic even so.
It seems the derm clinic DID make an appointment for me but I didn't see or hear anything about that and so didn't go.
Over time, it seemed to get bigger, and sometimes smaller, and I tried home remedies like dabbing it with vinegar and fixing a bit of banana peel over it, hoping that these homespun wart remedies might get rid of it.
Jul 2011 I had an emergency craniotomy to clip a ruptured brain aneurysm and had other things to deal with and worry about.
Nov 2012 As I recovered from the brain surgery, I had become more aware of the 'growth' and more concerned about it. It got very much bigger and had turned into a lump a bit like a huge zit,, which was sometimes itchy and a bit painful, I went back to my GP in November 2011.
The GP didn't want to make a new referral without examining me again.
Nov 16th Having done the examination, he said that it looked 'serious', had obviously got 'more aggressive', would certainly need to be removed, and referred me to the local hospital as a two week priority.
Nov 20th I got an appointment to see Mr J, a Gynaecological surgeon, who took my medical history; particularly interested in the dates and results of my last smear test and mammogram. (I've had both in the last year and they were clear as were all the previous ones). He examined the lesion, checked internally using a speculum, and also palpated my abdomen where he said he could feel a lump or lumps. His assistant checked my abdomen too and said she could feel them. The upshot was that he told me he didn't know what it was and would be referring me to a colleague for her opinion. He also told me it would have to be excised and that he thought it too big to be done under local anaesthetic so I'd have to have a general anaesthetic for the op.
Dec 4th I was seen by a Consultant Obstetrician/Gynaecologist at her Colposcopy clinic. She told me she thought it was a melanoma and, after using an acetic wash, did a punch biopsy using local anaesthetic. I agreed to have it photographed for my notes and signed a waiver to say it could be used in my notes, for teaching, and be published without my name. This was absolutely optional, I was asked every step of the way if I was OK about what was about to be done. Except for the injection of anaesthetic, I didn't feel a thing and the single stitch has not caused any problem.
Netsearching melanoma told me they are ALWAYS malignant, and I got quite worried about how far it might have spread and, of course, started thinking about the worst outcome.
Dec 18th I had a chest/abdomen/pelvis CTscan. I had to drink about 2 litres of water with a dye in it during the hour before the scan, and was injected with a dye during the scan. The whole appointment took less than two hours and was very straightforward.
Dec 21st I saw the consultant again She they had said.what told me the biopsy had confirmed the melanoma diagnosis, that it would need to be excised, and she thought the surgery should be done by a cosmetic surgeon. Although the CTscan results were back, the notes had not come through yet so she wasn't able to tell me the results.
