Hello,
I'm new here.
I've found this forum over the last few days. Spending time reading over the various posts which I've found informative and a source of support. Some real incredible people here.
My journey, in some ways, has just started.
3 years ago in my mid 30s, I became suspicious of a mole on my chest. For some reason, I started to develop a number across the middle of my chest. I was worried about one particular mole during the height of covid so I arranged to have it checked out private. I didn't want to go to the NHS at that time as I dont think any thing would've progressed. Had it checked in Nov 2020 (along with others) but the private dermatologist, whos an expert told me not to be concerned and he believed there was nothing suspicious. I was relieved but something in my gut told me I need to watch it, and msyb4 photo it myself as a log.
Fast forward to spring 2022, I noticed that boots offered a mole check service for a small fee per mole. I went along just for reassurance and after a quick reply from their dermatology experts,I was told again nothing looked untoward with this mole. The experts got by photos only for this service, but to be fair they are detailed.
Moving onto May 23, I went back to boots to have the same mole scanned, it had grown considerably howerver didnt have the 'normal hallmarks' of a suspicious mole, well apart from the size.
This time the dermatologist experts believed it was suspicious and advised me to get this removed and a biopsy. They provided me with a letter of their own suspicions, mainly for me to take to the NHS. I went to my local surgery who referred me as urgent and to have it removed (this was May 23)
I finally received notice in Sep 23 to come and have the mole removed. On 2 occasions during the then 2 appointments, I had, both the dermatologist and the surgeon state they didn't believe the mole was suspicious but finally conceded it was correct to remove it anyway!
I had to wait till last Tuesday, Nov 14 for results. Unexpected but in some ways not suprised it was melanoma. Stage 1B.
2 days later I was offered a cancellation for WLE, which I took right away. Now I await results for this, wondering how long it will take and the next steps? And what they may be. During WLE I wasn't offered anything else like SNB , is this normal not to have SNB.
I am so confused how they are so sure its 1B, but I guess they come to that from the original biopsy? Knowing in my head it's been there for 3 years at least, I'm concerned it's already spread.
I'm frustrated it's took 3 years, when I knew something wasn't right.
Hi Resarf and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
I'm sorry to read that you have recently been diagnosed with melanoma but that's great that you've had the WLE so quickly as, hopefully, that'll be the end of your treatment.
The way that melanoma is staged is a bit complicated and you can read more about it if you click here. When you had the excision biopsy your lesion was sent away for biopsy where they look at it to see if it is a melanoma or not and, if it is, they measure how far down into the layers of skin it has grown. This is called the Breslow thickness. Once they know the thickness this is then converted into the stage with Stage 1, which you've said you are, being less than 2mm thick.
Whether you are offered a SLNB or not depends on the thickness of your melanoma and you can read the NICE guidance here. The best person to speak to to find out why you weren't offered a SLNB would be your skin cancer nurse specialist (SCNS) as she will have access to all your records.
How long you'll need to wait for the results of your WLE depends on how busy the pathology laboratories are in your area of the country. It can be anywhere between 2-6 weeks or more unfortunately.
It would be great if you could put 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.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
