Hi Everyone.
I was told last week I had stage 1 malignant melanoma after having a new mole removed from leg. I have to go back for a wider excision.
one minute I think I just need to move forward and it’s all ok as it’s gone but the next I think how it’s changed my whole life. I dare not just feel cancer free as I think how the risks of it returning are so high.
Sometimes I feel a fraud thinking I’ve got cancer and other times I’m past myself with worry.
sending love to you all
Hi Rob80 and a very warm welcome to the online community
I'm sorry to read that you've just been diagnosed with melanoma but it sounds like they've caught it really early if you are Stage 1 and you haven't been offered the sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) along with your wide local excision (WLE).
You are most certainly not a fraud, as melanoma is cancer, so please don't think that. I can remember very well how scared I felt in the early days but there will come a time when it's not the first thing on your mind when you wake up and the last thing on your mind as you fall asleep.
You are right that there is a risk of it returning but hopefully you've been shown how to examine yourself and have also had a skin cancer nurse specialist (SCNS) allocated to you who you can speak to if you're worried about any changes you find to your skin.
Do you have a date yet for your WLE?
It would be great if you could pop something about your diagnosis and treatment into your profile as it really helps others when answering or looking for someone with 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.
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
