Hi everyone,
I was diagnosed with a stage 1b melanoma in 2016. Last year, the melanoma came back - stage 3C - and was growing very fast. I had a lymph node dissection in January this year, and I am now undergoing immunotherapy treatment (Pembrolizumab).
My last round of treatment is in February and for some reason I feel sad about it. I know I should be happy because I was lucky to receive my treatment throughout the pandemic (and I cannot wait to be done with the side effects). But I have felt quite lonely throughout the whole thing. I have not seen my family since February last year and have done all of my treatment alone. I live with my partner, but I have had to go to all injections and medical appointments alone because of covid restrictions at the hospital.
Now in 4 weeks, I will have a few scans to do, one last appointment with the oncologist, and that may be the end of it all. I am excited to turn this page, however I also feel scared to be left on my own. What if the cancer starts coming back? What is no one notices the lumps inside of me?
Is it weird that I am sad about finishing my treatment? Have people experienced this too? I have stayed positive throughout the last year, and keep in mind how lucky I am to have had my surgery and my treatment in covid times, but I cannot help to be scared about the future months!
Hi and a very warm welcome to the online community
I was diagnosed with melanoma 4 years ago and had a WLE and SLNB. Fortunately the melanoma was not found to have spread into my SLN so I've been having 3 monthly check-ups ever since. In a year's time this will come to an end and I'm sure I'll feel a little 'cast adrift' when I no longer have the safety net of check-ups.
According to this information from NICE you may be offered regular follow-up scans once your treatment has finished. Your SCNS should be able to tell you what is likely to happen.
I can see that you've joined the melanoma group and I'm sure if you copy and paste your post from here into a new post there you'll find someone in the same position as you who can tell you what happened after their treatment finished.
I'll keep an eye out for you
x
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