Hi,
I actually can't believe I'm writing this, and I'm struggling with anxiety and accepting the diagnosis. I had a mole appear about 5 years ago that I went straight to my GP about who said it was all fine. I left it longer when it changed as I thought I'd already had it checked. I finally went back and was diagnosed and removed within 2 weeks which was brilliant. I'm waiting for Christie's now to contact me can anyone give me any indication as to how long this will be and also what tests are done to check lymph nodes and can this change the stage?
Sorry any help would be really appreciated as I'm struggling to deal with it and the waiting is hard.
Thanks x
Hi Josie123 and a very warm welcome to the group which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
I was diagnosed with Stage 2 melanoma nearly 9 years ago now so know how hard the waiting for results and treatment can be.
It's common to be offered a sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) to check if the cancer has spread to your lymph nodes. This is performed at the same time as your wide local excision (WLE) will be. However, it depends how deep your melanoma is. If it's below a certain depth then this operation won't be done but your lymph nodes will be checked manually when you go for your follow-up skin checks.
I had to wait about 10 weeks between being diagnosed and seeing the surgeon who would be doing my WLE and SLNB. The operations were then done a couple of weeks later.
If you have a SLNB and cancer cells are found in the lymph nodes then yes, this will change your stage. However, try not to dwell on that as currently you're only stage 1, the melanoma has been removed, and hopefully the only other treatment you'll need is a WLE.
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"
If you want to know anything about the WLE and SLNB operation, I'm happy to share my experience with you.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
