Acral Letiginous malignant melanoma

Hi Potte, lovely to hear from you. My foot is healing at last , just a bit tender, and I can get soft shoes on at last.   
 It’s great not having to protect it in the shower too.   I only just found out this time round that you can buy a waterproof foot protector that keeps the wound completely dry in the shower.  It looks a bit daft lol, but it works.  (Can’t understand why hospital staff never told me about it before).  I’m feeling fine, trying to get fit after all the sitting around.

How about you?  Hope you are doing ok.  Have you been on holiday yet?  How are you feeling ?  xx

Hi Lillibeth. Had a lovely holiday thanks though it was hot in Greece so had to be very careful about protecting myself. I’m doing ok but the donor site scar is still really annoying me. Doesn’t matter what I put on it it doesn’t stop the itching especially around the edges. Struggling a bit emotionally at the moment if I’m honest, very close to tears a lot of the time which is not like me at all, I’ve never been a cryer. I’m sure it will sort itself out over time.

Glad your foot is healing at last, have they told you what if anything, happens next. Hopefully you won’t have to have anything else done. I will have everything crossed for you. 

like you I am trying to get fit after all the sitting around, saw a really good PT who put me together a upper body routine to start me off as he thought it was far too early to put any pressure on my foot. It’s amazing how quickly you become unfit isn’t it. 

Big hugs and take care of yourself xx

Hi Potte

it was good to hear you enjoyed your holiday in Greece.  I know that having a melanoma diagnosis makes us all very aware of the dangers of being out in strong sunshine.  I try to stick to the shade these days outdoors especially during the hottest time of day.  It’s a pity, because I used to love being in the sunshine.  Now it’s wide brimmed hats and sunglasses.

i can totally sympathise with you feeling emotional  about it all, I think it’s an absolutely normal reaction to the diagnosis.  I know I took a long time to come to terms with it.  I remember every little pain or tiredeness had me thinking it was the cancer which had spread.  All I can say is I don’t worry so much now.  

And you are in a really good position as the surgeon was able to do a wide excision on your foot, plus the results showed no remaining cancer cells. I think you should be confident that the surgery was successful.

Good to hear you are working on fitness !  I am back to doing yoga and have started walking most days to get fit and shift some weight.  Let’s keep going and try to stay positive!   Keep in touch.  I am always here if you need to talk.  xx Lillibeth

I recently had first melanoma diagnosis stage 1 with WLE. Since then going into overdrive looking for more suspicious moles.

Hadnt been aware about ALM until now, but realized I have this mark growing since childhood on my little toe. 

Wondering if it looks like ALM. It appears similar to photos on the internet. Seeing my Derm in 2 weeks.

Hi Ranee17.  
I too had my first melanoma diagnosis Stage 1 nine months ago. It was followed up by a WLE and SLNB in late December.  Fortunately, there was no evidence of spread, but I know exactly how you feel In terms of wondering what else is going on in your body.  I call it anxiety overdrive. We obviously have to keep checking our skin for new or changing lesions, but every time you spot something new, you automatically think the worst.

I think the key part of your post is the fact that you’re seeing Derm in two weeks.  That’s really not very far away and they can take a good look at your skin.  Hopefully they’ll be able to reassure you that it’s nothing significant.

Thanks SilverAspen

Anxiety overdrive indeed. Rabbit holes and more rabbit holes. You are right, I just have to wait for the expert & hope for the best.

Glad to be part of the community and be able to read everyone’s shared experiences.

Glad to hear you had no further repercussions as well.

Thanks for your reply, I appreciate it.

Hi Lilibeth,

I don't know if you'll get this but I was wondering how your ALM was detected? How big it was when it was diagnosed etc? I haven't had anything confirmed yet but I am pretty sure I have ALM on my big toe. It's close to the tip but it's at the edge of my nail (I actually only noticed it when cutting my nails one day back in March, and by July I figured I should get it checked out).

No one has specifically stated that it's ALM but my GP said it looks "sinister", and the doctor in the Plastics department of my hospital has said that it's best to remove it due to the colour and that they will biopsy it to figure out what it is. The removal is on Saturday 30th and I'm not looking forward to flip flops and "heel walking" but I will be glad when the lesion is removed. Just hoping it's straight forward, although after reading what you've been through, it seems I may be dealing with this for the long term going forward. 

You don't expect to get cancer at 36, and I fear anything that will take me away from my husband and 4 children! But here's to staying positive!

Anyway, I just wanted to reach out. Thanks for reading this far.

Munch

Hi. I was diagnosed with ALM 2 months ago while on vacation in Europe.  It is probably a recurrence from in situ melanoma I had on the side of my foot 8 yrs ago.  Now it has spread to my big right toe.  So far the doctor is advocating for toe amputation. I am extremely nervous about this since I’m very active  in my lifestyle and am used to running, walking, hiking, gardening, swimming, driving, skiing.  Any input on how all this can be Affected after toe removal and hopefully not part of my foot. Thanks in advance