Hi . Taken me a while to pluck up courage to post on here as it makes it all the more real.

Hi Rosebud68…just checking in with you as I know it can feel a bit lonely when you first post waiting for someone to connect…I’m quite new to this too with my mole removed in July and to cut a long story short I’m now classed as 3A waiting oncology appt in December…there is lots of info on here which I found extremely helpful and lovely people will connect who have a lot more experience than me….the waiting is awful…everyone will tell you that but you are in the system now, I know it’s not a place you want to be, but I see it as better knowing what you are dealing with than not!…..I try keep occupied with ‘other’ things…I journal, hand stitch and listen to audio books and walk my dog a lot…I do my best not to google as I was warned it’s not the best way to find out up to date and valid information…I sometimes contact the Macmillan nurses if I’m not sure about something and they always get back to me rather than sitting worrying and I have recently started the counselling offered my Macmillan….so a few things to think about…I wish you well x

Hi ivysmum , thankyou for taking time to get in touch . It did seem very daunting to begin with only getting a few hours sleep every night but that has settled now. I also journal , crochet and cross stitch but that's on the back burner for a while . I have rheumatoid arthritis which has resulted in tendon reconstruction and fused wrist on my left hand and am waiting for an operation on my right hand for the same hopefully  before christmas. So I've taken to diamond printing listening to audible , bird watching from the comfort of my home which gives me great pleasure also indoor exercise bike as I also have a ankle fusion so walking is difficult for me . Like you I do not Google anything I get my information from this site and also a cancer support worker who will always get back to  me. Where you were given the diagnosis of stage 3 was that the stage it was or did it progress from an earlier stage , not sure if that's worded how I mean it.. I hope all goes as well as it can at your appt in December . Take care.

Hi Rosebud68….nice to hear from another Crafty lady!…I have put a lot of info in my profile so if you take a look at that it’s a snapshot of where it started….but it was staged after the WLE as a T3 due to the depth and then the A was added once I had my lymph node biopsy and cells were found in 1 lymph node…..for me it became a very fast process of taking a lot of new information on board very early on and TBH I was devastated but the more I have learned and heard other peoples experiences I am more reassured that there is a way forward…it’s just not something I ever thought would apply to me…but finding this forum has really helped me navigate my diagnosis and understand some of the more complex terminology….hope that helps!….x