So I was diagnosed with mm 1a, on my shin. After 12 weeks of iodine and plaster dressings from the first excision I have just had a WLE and skin graft.
I have told very few people working from home helps and some people think I have a leg injury, but lesson learnt I needed help after the first time even just to drive to appointments and a stick to help me stand, so the happy everything is fine face is on and my parents moved in (they live 200 miles away)
deep down I know I am lucky it was caught and removed but I can’t get my head around this being cancer and the potential seriousness and I have survived something I didn’t know was there.
seeing the hole / dent in my shin all the time isn’t great I am obsessing around clothes that will cover it up, scared what people will say when they see it, the nurses have been great but I don’t know if I am asking the right questions, like today i have a swollen ankle and leg so it naturally feels tighter but foot is elevated is that normal?
i am crying most days either out of frustration I am not as active as I had been last year I was in training for the Macmillan might hike, how ironic ..or just the general feeling of the healing and swollen leg
when you hear of other levels and types I feel a fraud saying and probably admitting it was cancer
thanks for letting me open up on here and just put it down.
Hi Fi956 and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is an informative and supportive place to be.
Like you I didn't know that the odd lesion on my arm was going to turn out to be melanoma so I understand the shock you felt on being told. As you said Stage 1a is the best it gets, without being told you don't have melanoma at all, but it's still cancer so please don't feel that you're a fraud for admitting that you had cancer.
As my melanoma was on my arm I don't know if it's normal for your leg and ankle to swell after you've had the WLE and skin graft. Have you asked your SCNS? My WLE area was swollen for a few days after the operation and you haven't said how recently you had yours.
As for what questions to ask your SCNS. Well the only pressing one at the moment is probably have the results of your WLE come back yet and, if they have, what were they, or if they haven't, when should they be back. Hopefully you've been given information on how to care for the wound but if not that could be another question.
The scar on my arm was huge initially so I did keep it covered but with time it's faded and is hardly noticeable now. However, as the information about keeping safe in the sun that I was given included covering up, being outside isn't an issue as no one can see my scar anyway. It's only if I go out in an evening and wear a short sleeved top that the scar can be seen.
I told all my close friends about my melanoma diagnosis as it then meant I didn't have to keep explaining why I needed to sit in the shade when out with them and why I wouldn't be sunbathing anymore. I think it's also helped them to be more aware of how dangerous the sun can be.
It would be great if you could pop something about your 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.
Sending a big (((hug)))
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Hi Fi956
I'm just checking in to see how you're doing now and to see if you've had the results of your WLE and SLNB yet?
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
I'm glad to hear you're doing okay and that you've been discharged from the dressing clinic Fi956.
I would have thought that if there was any problem with the way your wound looked that would have been picked up at the dressing clinic but it certainly won't hurt to speak to your SCNS for peace of mind.
When are your results due back?
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
