Hello everyone
i am be here. My partner has just been diagnosed with melanoma following a mole being removed from his back. The mole has been there for years but doctors did not raise any concerns until recently.
I am so scared that it has spread and little can be done. We are waiting for a date to remove more to see if it has spread to the lymph nodes. I am worried this is the case.
has anyone had thus experience? I am so terrified I am wanting to out in all safeguards right away.
any advice is much appreciated
Hi Mills22 and a warm welcome to the online community and the melanoma group in particular.
I'm sorry to hear that your partner has just been diagnosed with melanoma and I completely understand what an overwhelming feeling this will be for you both.
In answer to your questions "has anyone had this experience" I'd say that the majority of us in this group have been where your partner is now. I was diagnosed with melanoma at the end of November 2016 and had the follow up operations your partner is going to have in February 2017.
Everyone who is diagnosed with melanoma has follow-up surgery called a wide local excision (WLE). Depending on the depth of your partner's melanoma this will be between 1 and 2cm all around the original excision site to make sure that there are no melanoma cells left behind.
If the melanoma is 0.8mm deep or more then you would also be offered an optional biopsy called a sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). This is an operation to remove the sentinel lymph node nearest the site of the melanoma to see if contains any melanoma cells.
I had both these operations and I'm happy to tell you what's involved if you want more info. Thankfully mine came back clear and hopefully your partner's will too.
He will then be followed up for five years. This involves having three monthly check-ups for three years followed by six monthly check-ups for two years. At these check-ups his skin will be checked to make sure that there are no suspicious lesions and his lymph nodes will also be checked. In between these check-ups he should check himself once a month. He should have been given the contact details of a skin cancer nurse specialist (SCNS) who would be his point of contact if he found anything he was concerned about.
Hopefully I haven't overwhelmed you with information 
and please feel free to ask any more questions as and when you think about them.
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Hi Mills22
How are you and your partner doing? Hopefully the initial panic and worry has subsided a little now. Does your partner have his date for his WLE and SLNB yet?
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
