New diagnosis

Hi Star55 and a very warm welcome to the melanoma forum which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.

I'm sorry to read that your husband has recently been diagnosed with Stage 2 melanoma, something I was also diagnosed with.

I'm not quite sure what you mean when you say

Star55 said:

He knows he has cancer but won't acknowledge it

Could you explain a little further please?

It would be great if you could put something about your husband's diagnosis and any proposed treatment 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.

Thank you latchbrook. Back at the beginning of May I noticed that the large nodular mole on my husbands back had changed colour and he said it was itchy so he made a doctors appointment with the 'skin specialist' GP. The GP said it was nothing to worry about and proceeded to freeze it off. My husband was advised that bleeding after cryotherapy was normal and if the didn't fall off within 3 months to come back to the surgery.

The mole bled continuously but we weren't overly worried given what the GP had said though. After 3 months my husband went back to the surgery and saw a different GP who after seeing the mole referred him immediately to dermatology via the two week pathway but it was actually another month before the hospital appointment.

At the hospital appointment the consultant Dr said that the mole had been misdiagnosed by the GP and it was removed the same day via excision.

We got the bad news last Thursday that my husband has stage 2c nodular malignant melanoma. I'm terrified but my husband is so calm I'm worried that it just hasn't sunk in how serious this is.

He has an appointment at a different hospital this afternoon and an MRI next Saturday, followed by an operation and an then he will be seeing an oncology Dr in a different hospital.

Why is everything happening so fast? I guess it's because of the four month delay in diagnosis and the fact that this cancer spreads very quickly.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Everyone deals with a cancer diagnosis differently. I've been unfortunate enough to have had a melanoma diagnosis followed several years later by a breast cancer diagnosis. Both times, like your husband, I certainly knew I had cancer but I was calm and just 'got on with it'.

How you react very much depends on your personality. I think we're influenced too much by what we see on TV, where anybody whose told they have cancer is immediately in floods of tears. In the real world that's not always the case.

Basically, there are no right or wrong ways to react and for your husband and me, the 'just getting on with it' approach works.

It's good that your husband is having his follow-up scans and operation quickly. There's no need to read anything in to it, it just means that your hospital trust has the capacity to start treatment immediately. 

The operation your husband will be having is called a wide local excision (WLE) and is the normal follow-up surgery after melanoma has been diagnosed. It basically takes a wider, up to 2cm, area all around the original biopsy site away to make sure that there are no cancer cells left behind.

He may also have a sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) to check if any cancer cells have gone to his lymph nodes.

I've had both of these procedures and can give you any more information on them.

I'm not sure where you've read that melanoma spreads very quickly but I'm guessing that you've been on Google. One of my best pieces of advice would be to stay off Google as you'll only read worst-case scenarios plus most of the information is out of date. Sites like this one, Cancer Research UK or the British Association Of Dermatologists are the best places to go for accurate and up-to-date information.

Do come back and let us know how he gets on this afternoon.

((hugs))

How did your husband get on at the hospital this afternoon?

I'm so sorry to hear what you have been through with melanoma and also breast cancer. I hope the future is kinder to you.

He got on well thank you. He met with his surgeon who was very reassuring explaining the operation and SNB process. He will have the operation within 4 weeks once the MRI and CT has results are back.

Did you say you had the SNB? If so what were your results and how was it afterwards? I hope you don't mind me asking.

That's good to hear the appointment went well and your husband knows what's happening.

Yes I had a SLNB and it was clear so no further treatment needed.

My melanoma was on my arm so my SLNB was in my armpit. Both my arm and armpit were sore for a while afterwards but by the time I went back for my results two weeks later I had full mobility again.

Thank you for your response. I've now clicked on your profile and read your story. 

Sorry, one further question, did you have any further oncology treatment for the skin cancer? 

Sorry for the late reply but I've been out all day.

No, I did not need any further treatment as both my WLE and SLNB were clear.

I had check ups every 3 months for the first three years with my consultant dermatologist which went to six monthly for a further 2 years.