Mum newly diagnosed with Melanoma behind knee

Hi Fiddleplayer and welcome to the online community

It's natural for your mum to feel frightened and anxious about her upcoming WLE and SLNB, I know I was.

I have had both of these operations so I'm happy to tell you about my experience. However, my WLE was on my arm and my SLNB in my armpit so I've had a look in the group to see if I can find someone whose melanoma was behind their knee. 

The most recent person is  so I'm 'tagging' them in the hope that they'll pop on and tell you about their experience with a WLE behind the knee and SLNB.

x

Thanks for the mention latchbrook. 

Hi Fiddleplayer, sorry to hear about your mum's recent diagnosis and it's normal for her to feel anxious as I was when diagnosed.  I had a freckle on the inside of my right knee (actually I'm full of them thanks to my Irish heritage) but this freckle went from an innocent looking freckle to a raised one, then a mole very fast last summer within the space of about 3/4 months. I spend a few months of the year away in the med so went to a local dermatologist who said it didn't look much but I should get it looked at when I returned to the uk (5 weeks later). When I contacted my GP she asked for pics as due to covid there was no face to face initial contact. She asked me to come see her 3 days later and she too said it didn't look much but when I showed her the many images I had taken from when I first noticed it she sent me on a 2 week referral.  At this appointment the consultant took it off there and then saying she wasn't convinced it was anything so it was a precautionary procedure.  You can imagine the shock I had when I got a call 4 weeks later to tell me it was malignant melanoma 1.2mm.  6 weeks later I had a wle and slnb.

The surgery was pretty easy I have to say. They brought me in the morning to run a trace from the site to my lymp nodes to identify the sentinal node, I had my surgery at 1pm and home by 3pm  There was discussion on whether I would  need a skin graft as there isnt a huge amount if flesh normally around the knee cap area but I didnt need one in the end thankfully. I was off my feet for about 3 days. I'm very active anyway so struggled with just slow walking for a week or two. I had my surgery on 11th March and my scars have healed (the knee one took a few weeks but think it was my own fault for walking too soon and at times I was worried it was going to split). The scar at the top of my thigh is healed but I'm having a few issues with drainage in that I get a lump where the lymph node should be so I have to massage it at least once a day. I checked with the consultant at my 6 week check up and she advised this was normal until my body gets used to not having that lymph node.  I also notice I get a bit of swelling in that leg (think it's a bit of lymphedema) but find if I exercise, drink water and massage my groin is goes down. 4/5 weeks after surgery I got a call to confirm the cancer hadn't spread so its 3 monthly check ups which are happening virtually which is a bit concerning.

I know it's a worrying time for both you and your mum. I went through hell with my own mums cancer battles so I understand. The whole process was really well managed as far as I was concerned. I had some concerns with swollen lymph nodes before my surgery which meant I got to meet the surgeon before my operation and he was amazing.  He said that the fact I am female and it's on my lower leg was good statistically so guess it's the same for your mum.

Best of luck with the procedure. If you or your mum need any other info just let me know. Take care and hopefully it'll be ok.

Hello latchbrook. Thank you for the welcome and for finding someone who had a melanoma in the same area. It has been helpful and a comfort for my Mum to see their reply and read about their experience. 

Hi Monkeylover. 

Thank you so much for giving such a detailed account of your experience. I have showed my Mum today and she found it really helpful. Obviously due to the her age and slightly more advanced melanoma than yours, her experience will vary and her healing time will no doubt be longer, but it still gave her an idea of what to expect , and it was somehow comforting to hear your story. Also good to know that statistically the outlook is better for females and for that location. 

I am sorry you’ve had all this to go through, and to have had such a dreadful time supporting your Mum as well. Yes, I can imagine the shock you had when you heard your result. 
Because of the my Mum’s diagnosis I’ve been alert to my own skin and have found something quite concerning so will be seeing a doctor tomorrow. 

Also like you my partner has many moles  - mainly on his back , so it has made me realise how I must be vigilant with him. 

Thank you for your good wishes. All the best with the continuing healing and monitoring checks. 
Take good care and thanks again for your help.

You're welcome and I truly hope your mum gets through her op ok. Your love and support will be a great strength to her. Best of luck with your own diagnosis, hopefully its not something too concerning. Let's us know how you both get on. Best wishes. J

Thank you. With me the doctor is very sure it is due to sun damage and is a pre-cancerous lesion - given me a special treatment cream and reviewing in a few weeks.  I'm very glad I got it checked. I will let you know how my Mum gets on too. Thanks for asking and for wonderful support. J  

Great news Fiddleplayer  and fingers crossed the cream works. Best wishes for your mum's op. Take care J

Hi Fiddleplayer

I'm just checking in to see how your mum got on with her WLE and SLNB. Hopefully she found it was no where as scary as she feared.

Has she had the results back yet?

x

Hi latchbrook

Apologies for not replying sooner and thank you for enquiring after my Mum. She has had her WLE just over two weeks ago. Dressings came off last Monday and both graft and donor site healing well so far. She decided against having the SLNB in the end , after lots of consideration and chats with Macmillan nurses, advice from the surgeon and hearing other people’s experiences etc. , feeling that at age 88 it was a lot to go through with little gain and a few risks. So hard, but she is feeling so relieved and is in much better spirits, if exhausted! She gets her results on 19th August , or slightly earlier by phone if they come in … the next hurdle. Then a meeting with the oncologist to discuss having a scan and possible mild ( because of her age ) immunotherapy. Apparently, even if no cells are detected from the WLE because of the thickness of the melanoma  (3.4mm) , they said it is very possible it has spread, hence needing to do scans. I guess still a somewhat scary road ahead, but now feeling more able to take one step at a time. 
Thank you so much for the support.

Hope you are keeping well x

I'm glad to hear that your mum is recovering well from her WLE and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that nothing is picked up on the scan if the oncologist decides that your mum needs one.

As you might have seen there are lots of people in the group having immunotherapy. If you want to ask any questions about that treatment you could start a new thread and I'm sure you'll find lots of people willing to share their experiences.

Let us know how the appointment goes next month.

x