Hi
Yesterday I went back to the consultant dermatologist to get the results of a biopsy taken from my vulval area. This followed months of skin irritation. I had thought of all sorts of things that it might be including pre cancerous cells but not too much about cancer because she said it was rare in that area. Anyway it turns out I have Paget’s disease of the vulva which is a rare form of cancer on the skin. She has referred me to a specialist team to map out the parameters of the cancer and do mammogram, colposcopy etc in case it is secondary rather than primary.
I am overwhelmed by fear, bad thoughts, anxiety and upset. I am in my 60’s have a very lovely supportive husband and 3 sons in their 30s. I also have a baby granddaughter of a year who I have hardly seen due to lockdown.
My mind is veering from thinking about what if it has spread, to dying to having awful surgery. I have spoken to my sister and a couple of friends and they are here for me but can only say so much at the moment. I have spoken to 2 of my sons but only talked about skin cancer in a very general way, not the particular type and reassured them about more tests etc. The other one is much further away and harder to talk to yet.
I haven’t looked into any other groups yet because I googled yesterday and worried and scared myself further!
I’m veering from disbelief to trying to be realistic and face up to everything. Is this normal?
Hi NewRose and a very warm welcome to the online community
I'm sorry to read that you have recently been diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer and it's perfectly normal to have the feelings that you do at the moment.
As the online community is divided up into different support groups I'm going to recommend that you join the vulva cancer group, which also covers Paget's disease, where you can ask questions, share experiences and get support from others with the same diagnosis.
To join just click on the link I've created and then choose 'click to join' or 'join' (depending on the device you're using) on the page that opens. You can then introduce yourself and post in the same way as you did here and join in with existing conversations by clicking on 'reply'.
When you feel up to it, it would be great if you could pop something about your journey so far into your profile as it really helps others when answering or looking for someone with a similar diagnosis. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
If you have any difficulty navigating the community just drop me a reply and I'll be pleased to help.
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
No problem NewRose. There's no rush.
((hugs))
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
