Mum's Melanoma Recurrence Need Hope

Hi Pip93 and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.

I'm sorry to read that your mum's melanoma has recurred and I can understand how worried you are feeling right now.

I haven't had a recurrence since I was originally diagnosed 6 years ago but I do know that melanoma is sneaky and can reappear years later.

You might find this information from Macmillan on recurrent melanoma helpful to look at. It tells you what it is and what treatment can be used.

It would be great if you could pop something about your mum's diagnosis and treatment so far into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. 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.

((hugs))

Hi Latchbrook,

Thank you for your kind response. I have updated my profile as you suggested, and I'm doing my best not to Google scary statistics. I've spoken to the macmillan nurses on the phone and they were so kind and supportive. Hopefully my mum will be given a good prognosis when we see the consultant next Wednesday. I'm trying not to assume its the worst case scenario and be grateful for the fact that even though the melanoma came back, at least there's no sign of it elsewhere in her body right now x

Hi Pip93 

Although Google is a great source of information, right now Google is not your friend. We all do it, go on Google looking for reassurance but come away more scared than when we started!

Try to stick to sites like this one or Cancer Research for reliable information. Also don't forget that even statistics you find on these sites will be out of date as new treatments come along.

Let me know how your mum gets on on Wednesday.

x

Thank you, I will x

I thought I would just post an update. My mother has seen a consultant now, and she's going to have a full lymph node dissection under her arm like we'd thought. She won't be having further treatment right away, but the consultant reassured us she will be eligible for more immunotherapy in the future if she needs it. They believe the nivolumab might have actually worked and been holding those cancer cells at bay while she was having treatment.

Because she's had a relapse, it does mean another is more likely in the future, but the consultant gave us hope and said that there is still a chance that the cancer will have been contained in that part of her body and might not recur. We're lucky in that it seems not to have spread very far from the original sight.

We're staying positive, and we're going to hope that after the surgery we have seen the last of this horrible cancer, then deal with it if and when it comes back. But I hope this gives reassurance to anyone in a similar situation.

Thanks for the update Pip93 and it's good to hear that things are progressing as you expected.

x