Waiting

Hi I’m in the waiting period too. Had 2 moles removed a week ago. My consultant has said he’s confident results will be back within 2 weeks. I’m back on Saturday to have my stitches removed so I’m expecting to hear something then, 

Oh I do hope they come back for you soon the wait is horrendous not knowing the next step etc.Good luck Elleroo !

Hi JJStar53 and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.

Waiting for biopsy results is a really horrible time and I found that the best thing was to try and keep as busy as I could to avoid spending too much time pondering the 'what ifs'. Do you have any hobbies or pastimes that you enjoy that you could throw yourself into?

Lots of people find mindfulness really helpful and, if that's something that interests you, clicking here will take you to the NHS page with more information. You might also like to read this info on how to ease worry when waiting for medical test results.

When the surgeon removes the mole they usually take an area of healthy tissue as well so that there are 'clear margins', ie no cancer cells are left behind. If it does turn out to be melanoma the next step is to have a wide local excision (WLE), which is when the surgeon takes a further 1-2cm all around the biopsy area to make absolutely sure that there are no cancer cells left behind. You may also be offered a sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB).

I have had both the WLE and SLNB so, if you do have to have these, I'm happy to share my experience with you.

You asked if there are any alternative treatments for melanoma. Macmillan says "An alternative therapy tries to treat cancer using unconventional methods instead of usual medical treatment". As such, the online community guidelines allows the discussion of alternative therapies but no one must:

• Advocate the use of any alternative therapy as an alternative to conventional treatment;
• Claim that any alternative therapy can cure cancer, reduce the size of tumours or in any way treat cancer;
• Advise anyone to ignore medical experts’ advice on the use of any treatment whatsoever.
• Promote any alternative therapy.
• Advertise any alternative therapy for commercial gain

It would be great if you could pop something about your diagnosis and treatment so far into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on 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

Thank you so much for the info I shall spend some time going through and putting things in profile etc.

Best Wishes to you