Melanoma

Dear Mon4,

 Thank you for getting in touch with us and welcome to our Online Community, I’m Sue one of the cancer information nurse specialists on the Macmillan Support Line.

Being diagnosed with cancer can create all sorts of feelings and emotions and it’s natural following your diagnosis of Melanoma that you may be struggling with uncertainties about the future and how to protect yourself.

The main treatment for melanoma is surgery (wide local excision) this involves a larger area of healthy skin and tissue being taken from where the melanoma was. This helps to reduce the risk of the melanoma coming back and for an early-stage cancer this is often the only treatment needed.

After treatment the hospital will arrange regular follow up appointments which are to check for any new changes or concerns a patient may have and to offer continued support.

As you’ve mentioned it’s really important to do regular skin checks to be aware of any changes and report these straight away if concerned, for a medical assessment.

Because of what happened with your diagnosis and not being able to see everywhere on your body, it’s understandable you may be struggling with how you will manage this yourself. We would encourage you to continue to ask your husband/ or trusted other person to help you do these checks and assess any areas you can’t see yourself, paying close attention to the area which was first affected.

There are other things that can also be used to help with checking for any signs of skin cancer, including mirrors and a brush or comb to part hair. An ABCDE checklist can also be used as a helpful guide, with the letters helping to break down important things to look out for.

Whatever decision you and your family make about your home in France, it’s important to consider as terrified as you may feel there are lots of ways you can continue to protect yourself and enjoy the sun, it’s just about taking extra care to reduce risks. It may help to talk to your consultant or clinical nurse specialist about your concerns as they will be able to support you and offer you individual advice.

We offer skincare information on how to protect your skin after Melanoma, the charities Cancer Research UK and Melanoma UK also offer lots of useful advice about this.

Don't forget there is also our Melanoma forum if you'd like to speak to other members of the Community about this diagnosis.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions, please get in touch by email, webchat or phone. The Macmillan Support Line offers practical, clinical, financial, and emotional support. You can call us free from landlines and from most mobile phone networks* on 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week, 8am – 8pm.

Best wishes

Sue

Ref: CF/SMG