Hello

Hullo Dan.  Maybe this conversation has already outstripped me.  Or maybe my own experience can be of some small help. I had a melanoma on my scalp.  Once it had been diagnosed, I had an appt with Registrar plastic surgeon + cancer nurses.  He told me what they would do & the effect.  Then I had the surgery, with the Consultant as it happened, incl skin graft.  All went well, though as they forewarned me, the donor site is slower to heal.  Except there are cancer cells at a deeper level.   I have just today been for my PET (all-body) scan.  Easy-least, compared to an MRI.  It is a big thick polo-mint, rather than a tunnel.  A long tiring day nevertheless.  I now await results, which I hear come through quite quickly.

Just take it as it comes, Dan.  A bit at a time.  And keep off the internet, it’ll only worry you.  This site is bad enough!  We’re alive, and have a life to live.  Best wishes.

I agree staying off google is a must as it only scares you more and gives you more questions.  hope your results go well and you don't have to wait too long.

I am at the very beginning of this journey and it has opened my eyes reading some of these posts.

I will have to get used to waiting and learn to carry on living my life without the constant fear.  Just struggling right now

Hi Saltmarsh

Saltmarsh said:

keep off the internet, it’ll only worry you.  This site is bad enough!

I'm sorry to read what you think of the online community. Please do email the Online Community Team at community@macmillan.org.uk outlining what you feel is wrong, as their aim is to make the community a safe, informative and supportive place to be.

x

Hi Latchbrook.  Sorry you’ve taken offence.   I’m not complaining!  Just commenting that when I first had my diagnosis & friends suggested Macmillan, everything was very new & strange to me.  When I looked into the site, there seemed to be a plethora of extremely serious conditions, with lots of abbreviations & much medical knowledge apparent.  I found it alarming.  But that’s just me!

A little more used to it now, and very appreciative of even receiving a couple of responses.

I get where you're coming from. It's great to have this forum but easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of information or to let yourself get overly immersed in it. I had to take a day off from 'melanoma is everything I look at on the internet' and try to distract/interest myself in other areas of my life. It's not a criticism of the Macmillan forum, just an admission that just focusing on cancer wasn't helping mu head.