Just diagnosed 1b

Hi Jade,

I was diagnosed with a 1b Melanoma two years ago, also on my arm, so I can understand exactly how you feel.  I’m sorry you had to wait so long to find out this information..

My most immediate advice to you would be to ask if you have a Macmillan nurse at the hospital you can contact. You may already have been given a name, in which case have a chat to them. Mine was absolutely fantastic.  They can help you with factual information and help to put things into perspective.  One thing that mine said,  which I found really reassuring was that the mole itself had been removed and it couldn’t do any more harm.

Following my diagnosis, I was offered a wider local excision and sentinel lymph node biopsy. This makes sure that any surrounding tissue which might still contain cells is removed, and they check the lymph nodes in your armpit to make sure that the cancer hasn’t spread.  This is all done under general anaesthetic.  

You should also be offered regular skin checks, which should  help to alleviate your fears about your other moles.  I feel really reassured by these, and I can ask my dermatology nurse about anything I’m a bit concerned about, plus she has an expert eye that picks up early signs of anything suspicious.

If you need further information about any of the procedures, there are plenty of us in this forum who have gone through this.  I was also advised to look at Melanoma Focus, an informative and reassuring website.  Try and stay away from Doctor Google!

Do hope that you manage to speak to somebody and put your mind at rest.  It’s so easy to go into worst case scenario mode, so talking to someone whose job it is to listen to you should help.

Sending you as many positive vibes as I can.

Caroline