Worried about call back

Hello Manatee Mad26 and welcome.  As I understand it you've had a mole removed and now have a appointment to go back for results.  My hospital didn't tell me how I would hear the results so  I was given an outpatient appt so my expectation was nil.  My alarm bell went off when the skin nurse specialist nurse was also in the room with the consultant.  It's not a foregone conclusion that your mole was malignant although you are right to be aware of your skin type and family history - that's a positive thing in your favour as you'll be more likely to spot a suspicious mole early.  At your appointment: take someone with you if you are allowed to for support and to hear all the facts clearly,  if  it's benign they will say that quite quickly at the start, if it's malignant it's unlikely they will do any tests/further treatment on Friday but they may well suggest further scans and also some surgery.  This will be firstly be a (WLI)wide local excision of the area where they've taken the mole from. This will be to ensure the margins of your mole ie; the outside edges are clear so the wound will end up wider.  Also depending on what stage the mole is given they may suggest you have SLNB (sentinel lymph node biopsy) which will be done to see if any melanoma cells have travelled from the original mole.  The sentinel node is the first node your mole drains to. So for you with a mole on your arm (mine was too) your nearest lymph nodes are your underarm ones.   So...deep breath after all my info hon.  It's such a scary time, I couldn't think of anything else while I was waiting for those first results.  It can be surprising news sometimes, some people on here had what their GPs and dermatology doctors were sure was a mole and it turned out not to be!  Just one more day to go hon so try and keep it filled with distractions if you can.  Fingers crossed for a good result and come back and let us know the outcome please. Take care x

Hi,

thank you so much for such a detailed answer and for the calming words, when I went for the mole removal I was phoned on a Monday to come in following medical photography and they removed it Tuesday without pre warning until I was called in so feel a bit anxious and traumatised from lack of communication before. Can’t stop thinking about it and worrying what scale of bad it could be. Will be so relieved to just know! Thank you again x

Hi again,

Hi , how are you feeling now?  How did Friday go hon?  X

Sadly it was a melanoma so waiting for a date for a WLE, feeling very shocked and worried but relieved to know what’s happening at least if that makes sense x

I'm sorry about your diagnosis and just wanted to send support. I've just had my WLE and SLNB and although my melanoma was in a different place (head) I just wanted to say it wasn't as bad as I had imagined it would be. We're you given any information about size or whether margins were clear or any idea when your appt will be? I  was allocated a nurse who could answer my questions,which was helpful,  have you been allocated a nurse?

I know its hard but try not to worry

Rx

Hi, I'm so sorry you've had a diagnosis of melanom hon.  It's such a shock to start with. The C word. I never thought it would happen to me as so many in my family had had it.  Two years ago I felt on hearing I had stage 3c melanoma I knew my world had stopped. I immediately felt I was going to die of it. Started choosing songs for my funeral/party!  Two years on and I'm now on 4 monthly scans and skin/ mole checks but can largely ignore the mm. I don't know if I don't have cancer now or if it's just lying in wait but it doesn't look as large as it first did.  

So you're going to have a wide local excision which will give you clear margins  around your mole/lesion.  The NICE government guidelines recommend just a WLE for some early stage lesions plus a SLNB for more invasive ones to check if it has travelled.   

• Try and keep busy to occupy your mind if you can just to try and take your mind off the diagnosis. Easy to say and I can say I was successful at it completely but it helps.  It's natural to catastrophise cancer but there are really positive treatments now.  Avoid Google as it's not your friend.  Hang on in there and lean on friends and family if you can. Keep us in the loop hon, take care x