Hi everyone,
First of all, I'm sorry for my bad English, it's not my native language! And also, sorry for this long post.
I am a 24 year old woman from the Netherlands. I've had a brown streak with slight Hutchinson's sign on my left ring finger for about 7 to 8 years now (so I guess it started at 16/17). I went to the dermatologist to monitor the nail and it's streak and came back every few months until 2017. The dermatologist told us that the streak was most likely benign as it appeared at an early age and didn't change over time. We didn't continue the checkups but the derm assured me to contact again if the streak showed any change of other symptoms such as pain.
Fast forward 3 years, it is now 2020. A lot of things happened in those 3 years and I didn't really look after my nail anymore because I couldn't see any rapid changes happening. I wore nail polish constantly and even had acrylics for a while (wasn't aware of the risks of this). Furthermore, there were more important things in life and my family to really care about.
But then my nail started hurting. At first I didn't think much of it as I hurt my finger in 2019 by slamming it between a car door. My finger has been kind of sore ever since. However, a week ago I started experiencing some kind of aching in my cuticle more regularly. So I contacted my dermatologist again to have it looked at. Unfortunately, my former derm was not available so I had another one examining it. It was clear that the streak became much darker and the pigment changed as the streak now existed out of 3 little streaks. The whole streak widened for about 1mm, I think and is now 3-4mm.
It is now a possible subungual melanoma. I have been referred to another, more experienced hospital for a second opinion and most likely a biopsy this Monday.
I have been sick to my stomach with stress and nerves for a week and constantly panicking. I'm stressed that this subungual melanoma has been growing for a long time and has already spread to my lymph nodes. I'm being scared that I will die of this, just as I'm about to get married and buy a house. This kind of melanoma has a very bad prognosis.
Has anyone had any experience with nail biopsy and (possible) subungual melanoma? Has anyone got some sort of advice for me as I'm getting ready to have the biopsy and probably bad news?
Thanks for reading!
Emily
Anyone?
Hi Emily
As you've probably realised from the lack of responses subungual melanoma is extremely rare. If you type 'subungual' into the search bar at the top of the page you'll find a handful of previous posts on this subject. You could have a look through them and respond to any of the more recent posters if you want to ask them any questions.
How did your appointment go yesterday?
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Glad to hear the appointment went well and that they have suggested that it might not be melanoma but a benign naevus. Of course, being human, we always fear the worst instead of expecting the best!!
When I was waiting for results and operations, etc I kept myself busy doing the hobbies I enjoy which includes tracing my family tree. I haven't come across any ancestors from the Netherlands yet but there's still time. Because I get absolutely engrossed in what I'm doing I would completely forget about the melanoma and my worries. If you have any hobbies or things that you particularly enjoy doing now is the time to indulge.
Some people find mindfulness very helpful and you can find free apps on the internet if you think you'd like to give this a go.
Also, if you want to research melanoma further do stick to reputable sites like this one or Cancer Research as the internet is full of out of date information and scare stories. Let's face it, any symptoms you type into Google will inevitably tell you that you have cancer even if you just have the symptoms of a cold!
Ignore your gut and try not to worry as worrying won't change the results but will make you miserable in the meantime and, hopefully, for nothing.
If you need help sleeping tonight you can click on my profile picture and that will tell you my story.
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Thank you very much for your advice on how to cope during these stressful times. I'm so glad that you're here for everybody who's on this forum, Latchbrook.
I'm planning on doing mindfulness, so hopefully this will help to calm me down a bit. I find it hard to keep busy on my own as my favorite activities are with my friends and fiancé (group activities are not allowed at the moment here in the Netherlands). Well actually, I'm quite enjoying the whole wedding planning thing for our very small ceremony in December. But with the possible melanoma, what was supposed to be the most wonderful time of our lives now turns into one of the most worrying times at the same time. Such a shame!
However, thanks again for the advice. I will put an update on here when I've had my biopsy. For now I'll try hoping for the best and be as calm and distracted as possible..
X
Great news that you don't have long to wait now
I don't know how quickly results normally come back from the pathology laboratories in the Netherlands but in the UK it can take between 2-6 weeks depending on how busy they are. I always recommend that you ask when you go for the excision the expected wait time and also how you'll get the results. Before Covid results were usually given face-to-face in the UK whether they were good or bad.
Ooh, a wedding. How exciting! Are there any restrictions for weddings in the Netherlands at the moment? Here weddings can't currently take place until we come out of this second lockdown on 3 December.
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Hi
It's perfectly normal to assume that every ache and pain you feel is related to your possible melanoma. You'll be super aware of your body right now and whereas a few months ago you'd have dismissed your raised lymph nodes as just meaning you have a bit of an infection you now see it as a sign that the cancer, which you haven't been diagnosed with yet, has already spread.
I know it's easier said that done but try not to worry. Just because your head says you have malignant melanoma doesn't mean that this is what you actually have. Until the area is looked at under a microscope no one will know for sure one way or another.
Try instead to focus on your wedding and making it the best it can be in these covid times. Currently weddings can't take place in England but will be able to again from 3 December when we come out of this second lockdown. Daily numbers of infections and hospital admissions seem to be falling so this month of lockdown measures look like they're working.
Today we've found out which tier we're going in. Most of the country is in the highest tier which means that we still can't mix indoors or in private gardens and pubs and restaurants can only provide take away meals. There is going to be a relaxation over the Christmas period though. For 5 days we will be allowed to meet up with 2 other households indoors, although it's still advised to spend as little time as possible mixing.
All the best with your biopsy
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
