24 yr old son diagnosed with advanced melanoma

Hi, so sorry to hear about your son I am at the Christie being treated for stage 4 melanoma. He will be in good hands and there is a lot of treatment out there now for melanoma. I’m on immunotherapy and at my first scan and the tumours in my lungs are shrinking. Try and stay positive xx

Hi Nellyjelly,

Thank you do so much for your reply.

i have heard many good things about Christie’s and I’m hoping they can do something for my son.

i just feel lost and I know it is the beginning of his journey and I have so many questions. 

I really hope with all my heart that they treat your cancer and keep you well. 
Sending you much love

Jo xxx

So sorry to hear this!  At this difficult time I hope the following may be useful.  I suggest you have with you a list of any questions as emotion can make it difficult to bring them to mind during an appointment.  Do not hesitate to ask questions.  Christie's has a Maggie's Centre.  It offersthe possibility of face to face chat with knowledgeable individuals about any general concerns.  The charity Melanoma Focus is an excellent source of information.  Social Media in general may not be reliable for safe advice.  I have found to my pleasant surprise the FB page Melanomamates is excellent.  Free from unpleasant posts, misinformation and unpleasant people.  You or your son can join it.  I suggest you be sure to retain all copies of letters from Christie to your son, GP etc.  These may well be helpful in future e.g for travel insurance.  Within the lifetime of your son melanoma treatment has made huge advances and these continue.  Already there are people who have many years following the original diagnosis.  We do not yet have it's guaranteed complete defeat but there is great hope your son may benefit from that.  Wishing you all well! 

Hi Mendoe,

Thank you so much for your kind reply and very helpful advice. It’s all a little bit raw at the moment, but we have just been told that he will have his birthmark hopefully removed on Thursday.

i have been reading about all the good responses from the treatment that they have these days and that gives me hope.

He has no symptoms, just a blue face , if he hadn’t had that we would never have known he has melanoma.

i will keep all copies of everything as you suggested and thank you again for your kind words.

I wish you the very best of luck in your fight against this cruel disease.

Jo xx

Hi, I am so sorry to hear about your son and I have some idea if what you might be going through.   I was diagnosed with melanoma which had spread to my lungs in August 2023.  My son, who is 27, had a large mole on his neck which his gp had already said was not of concern.   He then went back and because of my diagnosis was put on the 2 week pathway, only to discover that it was, in fact, melanoma.   Thankfully his was a Stage 1 which has since been removed but we are still awaiting confirmation that there is nothing left.  

As parents all we want is the best for our children and this sort of thing is just so out of our control and the sense of helplessness can be overwhelming.  All you can do is support him and take some comfort from the stories on here showing how new treatments can be really effective.  As someone else has said,write all your questions down but also write the answers too.  It is easy to forget what has been said as it can be overwhelming at the time and we have found it invaluable to have a record to look back on.

Wishing you all the very best on your journey.  Let us know how you get on.  Jean x

Hi Jean,

Thank you for your reply and I send my thoughts and prayers to both you and your son.

When I read of other people and their treatments and success stories , I do take hope that those treatments may be able to help my son.

like your son, my son was told it was “ok” and not to worry ( my biggest regret is not pushing for a second opinion and I blame myself for his situation) , but we are now here in this awful nightmare that is just beyond words and comprehension.

My son had no symptoms at all and all his bloods were fine, but he went to the doctors because his head had a strange bluey grey tinge to it?

It took about a month for them to come back with the devastating news that he has advanced melanoma.

Hes due to have the birthmark removed hopefully on Thursday and then an appointment at Christie’s.

Thank you for the suggestion of notes to remember what has been said. I don’t think I could remember my own name at the moment.

I’m trying to stay positive, but your mind is the worst thing in the world. Hopefully we will know more once we get to Christie’s.

Please  let me know how you and your son are doing.

Jo xx