How long after pre op

Hi Rachel, it feels like ages when you're waiting,  I know. I don't have any experience of melanoma, but with my cancer, I was diagnosed in early June and had my first treatment at the end of August. It not a perfect system as there are always so many people waiting for treatment. You might find you won't get loads of notice. You'll go from nothing happening to everything happening all at once. 

Hi thank you for your reply. I'm just so anxious and worried. The fact he was booked in for his pre op is thought they was moving quickly and now it seems nothing. They said there is a follow up appt on his records for 23rd April, not sure why a follow up appointment is there without a appointment for the op. My little one who is now 2 got diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at birth and it has given me extreme health anxiety. So I am really struggling with this I am trying to be strong for my partner but I feel like he's not helping himself he is just so laid back about it all

Hi Rachel/Coco40 

I'm presuming that the operations your partner has had a pre-op for are a wide local excision (WLE) and sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). If this is the case then his melanoma has already been removed. This happens at the excision biopsy stage as the lesion/mole is sent off to the pathology laboratories for them to determine if it's a melanoma or something else.

The WLE was described to me by my SCNS as a "tidying up exercise" as all they're doing is removing a further area around where the melanoma was to make sure they have clear margins, ie to make sure sufficient skin is taken away so that there's no possibility of stray cells being left behind. The SLNB removes the sentinel lymph node nearest where the melanoma was so see if any cancer cells are present. It isn't a treatment but is used to check for spread, just as the CT scan was.

Waiting is horrible and I think it was about 4 weeks between having my pre-op and then having the WLE and SLNB. During this time I tried to keep my mind off the 'what if's' by doing things that I enjoyed. I've had both these ops and I'm happy to share what's involved if your partner wants to know anything.

If your partner can go for the op at the drop of a hat, then he could ask the admissions team if they have a cancellation list which he could go on to speed things up.

It's great to read that your partner's CT scan shows no spread and that he sounds quite chilled about everything. I know it's easy for me to say but no amount of worrying will change anything but it will spoil your life.

It would be great if you could put something about your partner's diagnosis and treatment to date 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.

Does your partner have a key worker/ MacMillan nurse?  Mine was invaluable at that stage, advising and reassuring me, as well as liaising with the Consultant Plastic Surgeon.

Hello, thank you so much for your reply. Yes he had his biopsy done, and then this op he's waiting for they said they was going to also remove a lymph node from his neck. I'm sorry I don't know exact names of them. Thank you for being so re assuring x

Hi, thank you for your reply. No I don't think he has. Which i also find a little odd. Like everything that's happening to him seems out of the ordinary I know everyone's circumstances are different, but I cant help feel like he's been forgotten about 

The ops are called a wide local excision (WLE), which everyone who's had a melanoma diagnosis will have, and a sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), which is offered if the melanoma is a certain depth or more. Clicking on the links I've created will give you more information on these procedures.

Hi Coco40. I had about a 4 week wait for my initial biopsy, I thought that was too long so I paid to go privately which saved me at least 2 weeks. I then had to wait about 6 weeks before I had the WLE which Latchbrook spoke about. I am seen at the Royal Marsden in Sutton and things are very organised there although there doesn’t seem to be any urgency. I suppose they can only move at the pace other departments work at. The good thing is the primary melanoma is gone, and the next stage is just as Latchbrook has explained. You should have a point of contact as you will have many questions and they are usually very available. 
I hope your husband doesn’t have to wait too much longer. I’m sure you haven’t been forgotten, waiting is the worst. 

Hi Coco40

it might be worth your partner contacting the nurses here at MacMillan Cancer Support for advice.  Although the recommendation is that everyone is allocated a key worker or clinical nurse specialist, it’s possible that some trusts may not have the resources to provide one.  Don’t forget that you need support too, so you could contact them yourself.  

Also, Melanoma Focus is a really good source of information.  This was recommended to me by the hospital team and they have a website that explains the whole process really clearly.  

I do hope you both manage to get the support you need. 

Hi again

I'm sure your partner hasn't been forgotten but everyone with a melanoma diagnosis should be assigned a skin cancer nurse specialist (SCNS), sometimes referred to as a keyworker or Macmillan nurse. Very small hospitals may not have the resources to provide one but it would be unusual.

If your partner doesn't have their details then he could phone his consultant's secretary and she will be able to give him the contact details.

The SCNS is invaluable as they can answer questions, see what's happening with appointments and is the person he should contact if he is worried about any new lesion/change to an existing mole. 

I was always reminded by my consultant that if I ever found anything concerning to ring my SCNS, not my GP, as she could get me an emergency appointment with my consultant within days. I did have to put it to the test a couple of times and the system did work.