Hello all,
I hope you’re all well and are doing okay given the difficult circumstances. Reading this forum has already helped me so I want to thank those kind people who take the time to read and respond to posts and messages. It really means a lot.
I have recently been diagnosed with stage 1b melanoma and I have a wider excision and sentinel lymph node biopsy coming up in February.
My main question is whether there’s anything I should be aware of or checking for in the meantime? I’m trying not to over analyse any of my (many!) moles but is there anything else symptoms wise I should be aware of. At the moment I feel absolutely fine but it’s hard not to read into the many everyday symptoms of being a busy mum and think that the tiredness or achiness is something more sinister now. I hope that makes sense and thanks in advance!
Hi there, thank you so much for your reply! It’s very reassuring to hear that it’s all gone as well as possible for you and wasn’t as painful as you feared. I assume you’re still waiting for your results from the SLNB? I have everything crossed for you.
I think you’re right in that it’s one thing at a time! I spoke to a nurse today who said it’s quite rare for there to be a completely different problem area (although I’m sure possible) and that the priority is the excisions and biopsies. After that I imagine we’ll be having lots of check ups which will hopefully bring some peace of mind.
I think it’s finding the balance of being aware and on top of checks etc but also not letting the anxiety completely take over!
Can I ask where your WLE was? Sending you all the love and support from afar over the next few weeks 
️
Oh I’m so happy for you, that’s really reassuring news. Least you didn’t have to wait for too long l for the results either!
My mole was on the back of my thigh so I might need a skin graft and it was 1.2 thickness. Thank you ️ you too. I hope the removal of your next mole goes as smoothly - I know it’s obviously serious when it’s another form of skin cancer but it makes sense that they prioritised the melanoma from what I have heard.
I will have a little look, thank you again!
That’s useful to know! I’ve met my surgeon and she said she’ll try to do it without a skin graft if possible but because of location she might need to. I am finding all the medical stuff really interesting - as well as a bit scary and anxiety inducing! I think a seroma is pretty common from what I’ve heard - fingers crossed it settles down for you soon 
Hi Bee1990 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've recently been diagnosed with melanoma and it's natural to wonder what you should be doing from now on.
Normally, your consultant would give you a leaflet explaining what things you should be doing. If you click here I've linked you to the British Association of Dermatologists leaflet on melanoma stage 1b. If you scroll to page 7 it tells you what you should be doing under the heading 'Self Care'. However, basically you should check your skin all over once a month along with your lymph nodes. As I'm a very moley person I was advised to take photos and use these as a baseline to compare with each month.
You also need to reduce your risk of developing further melanomas by following the recommendations in the leaflet which basically tell you how to stay safe in the sun.
It would be great if you could put something about your diagnosis and treatment to date 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"
Thank you so much Latchbrook for this resource! I think I’ve been told some of this information before but it’s really helpful to have it all in one place to refer back to. I will definitely be keeping a close eye on moles in the future and sticking to the shade!
Many thanks again - and I was glad to read that despite a tough time then results recently have been negative for you ️
