Malignant melanoma

Well done for spotting it, especially on the back, and still at an early stage despite delay. Hope treatment progresses well. Big hugs.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Find the A-Z of conditions:
dermnetnz.org/topics

Thank you very much for this helpful link, FGT

So sorry, growstuff. But being caught early means a good recovery hopefully.
My mother died of MM but that was in 1986 and there were no treatments for it then. There are now though so sending you my best wishes for you to be completely rid of it very soon.

Thank goodness yours has been caught at an early stage. Wishing you love and strength for your treatment.

My mum had two removed one from nose one from her back she did have a scar and she was never told the stage but we re area talking about 30 years ago
I seem to have a number of friends having melanomas removed at the moment

Sorry missed saying Good luck Growstuff

Best of luck with your treatment Growstuff well done for keeping an eye on it in a tricky place.

growstuff

Thanks Sar53. Mine is on my back, so I can't see it myself and I'm not too bothered about the scar, although my biopsy scar is itching like mad and I'd love to be able to scratch it. I feel for people who have scars in more noticeable places.

My dermatologist told me to massage the scar twice a day with moisturising cream for three months. Here in France they often put La Roche Posay on a prescription (though you pay for that bit), but my dermatologist said that one used for babies would do. Not easy if you can't reach though!

Adding to the good wishes here.

Growstuff this goes back to 2000. I know there are better treatments for malignant melanoma nowadays but this is my husband's story. Warn you it's it's in detail if you don't want to read it.

October 2000 my husband came home from work he had been on site and thought he had caught his face. He had black hair and bushy beard and moustache. When I looked it was in hair line between top of his right ear and near his eye. It was bleeding . So patched him up but looked at our big medical book and it looked like just like a malignant melanoma. So next day got him an appointment with our GP who said it was a bleeding mole. Knew it wasn't so asked the receptionist which of our GP specialist in skin conditions. So he saw him, next week we saw a consultant dermatologist. He said it looked like a malignant melanoma but as it was so close to his eye needed to see the plastics consultant. But he did have the skin cancer McMillan nurse at the hospital to come and see us. 2 weeks later saw plastic consultant who says it was benign I said it wasn't. My husband had his biopsy on 27th December 2000. Had to walk to the hospital in the snow as we where snowed in . Had his biopsy under local anaesthetic.

January 2001 the consultant apologised to me it was a grade 4 malignant melanoma and given 5 years to live . He had the cancer removed it was 2mm so they had to go 2mm below the cancer to get it all and 2mm around the area . They took the skin from the left side of his neck for the skin graft . He had cut his beard down to goaty. Luckily my husband had good muscle deficiency and his eye didn't droop otherwise they would have had to pull it up.

He had 30 stitches in the graft and the edges of the skin went dry and died and the nurse had to do what was called picking and that involved pulling off the bits if dead skin . It was painful but my husband stayed still even though it brought tears to his eyes. We had to go every week for 3 months . The stitches where removed after 2 weeks and the graft healed well. He had a large oval scar on his face .

Only me and our children knew he wasn't going to live . It was very important to my husband now one knew he was going to die. As in his words he didn't want to to treated like a dead man walking . After the 3 months just went very month then every 3 months . We had to check his body for lumps every week.

Summer 2003 he had a cough . His consultant had read about a special blood test that showed the smallest cancer cells but it took time . September 2003 cancer was found after having a CT scan with dye. October 8th our world fell apart. We had lived with the sword of Damocles hanging over us and now it dropped. 6 tumours 3 in his right lung one in his chest and 2 by the optical nerve in his brain . His consultant had us there during lunch break he cleared the department just him and a nurse . I remember screaming and going out if the room and the nurse held me when I cried .

Went back in and he had arranged for use to see an oncologist on the afternoon. Where we where given the news he had 4 months to 2 years to live . But we knew it would be months. He would have palliative chemo every 3 weeks and radiotherapy in the February 2004 as my husband had lumps on his head that bled caused by the brain tumours. So he had a mask made to go over his face.

November 2003 had to stop him driving as he was going blind but from October to mid November he still wanted to work as he had a steel fabrication business with a partner . The men at the work took it in turns to fetch him and bring him home . But I told them he had a hour from when they got him there then bring him back . I always had to phone up after 2 hours and said to bring him home. Then I had to stop him going so he had files brought to him. Then Christmas after the holiday had to stop that.

Our McMillan nurse was brilliant it's only because of us had carers allowance and DLA. They had turned us down because my husband had been given 2 years.

Christmas 2003 we talked about his funeral as we knew he hadn't much longer . He wanted to get to his birthday which was 2nd February promised him we would get him there .

He was on the highest dose of morphine . Our McMillan nurse told us the higher dose would kill him . We had talked with the children about ending his life he it got to much for him . And I would have overdosed him if he wanted and blow the consequences.

My husband woke in the night screaming in pain he put a pillow over his face so the children wouldn't hear until the liquid morphine sent him to sleep. When he was to weak he begged me to hold it so I did .

He reached his birthday in hospital as he had collapsed. He was told the day after he had 5 weeks to live . Because of needing oxygen he came home on the Wednesday afternoon as the oxygen had been delivered and shown how to change the tanks .

My husband died in agony on the Friday unable to breath on full oxygen and on a morphine pump. I looked at the children and told my husband to stop struggling we would be ok he was unconscious but heard me he died few minutes later at 1.27 pm 6th February 2004 . I was 45 out children 20 and 16. Should say I had a phone call from the hospital as he missed his first radiotherapy I remember screaming at the nurse he was doing busy dieing to come . But I did ring back on the Monday to apologise and spoke to the same nurse .

This is my husband's story . But there are treatments now even for grade 4 malignant melanoma which can expand a person's life span . Things have improved so much in the treatment of many cancers .

Like I said this started 2000 and ended on 2004. I. Those days you where given enough morphine to kill several herds of elephants. My son took 2 carrier bags of tablets and liquid morphine to the pharmacy on the Saturday.

No one jump on me this is what happened to us.

There is a thread about skin cancer I will see if I can find it and bump it up

Sorry to read this news growstuff. I’ve no experience, other than a friend who had a similar thing removed from her nose. That’s 5 years ago, she’s well and cancer free. I hope you have a similar recovery path

Growstuff thread is a skin cancer thread it's from 2022 but couldn't bump it up. If you want you can go into search it will be there.

All the best to you, growstuff

Short story about my father. He was diagnosed with Stage 2 MM about 15 years ago. Had it removed, was left with a very impressive scar which he'd tell people he'd acquired during a street fight on Scotty Road. He had sailed through treatment and didn't suffer any after effects.

He only died last year due primarily to old age/ heart disease.

V3ra

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Find the A-Z of conditions:
dermnetnz.org/topics

Thank you very much for this helpful link, FGT

You’re very welcome. 😊

Jaxjacky

Best of luck with your treatment Growstuff well done for keeping an eye on it in a tricky place.

That's the problem when it's in a not very visible place. DH's was on his back (removed) and t was me who saw it and was concerned but he wouldn't have known.
In Australia there are regular skin checks, but, of course, no NHS. It's quite usual to see people wandering around with a dressing on their head, face, arms etc. where they had a suspicious mole removed.

Sending hugs x

Just back from 5 weeks in Australia visiting my brother who has almost weekly check ups on his skin! Whilst I was there he had two more places burnt off using cryogenic stuff! He is never without a hat or sunscreen ! I wore factor 50 all the time I was there, didn’t burn at all and I wear factor 50 on my face here all year now as I have had treatment for sun damage ! We all need to be more aware of the effects of sun damage especially those of us who were brought up by the coast in the 50s where we never used sunscreen and burnt!! Keep vigilant I say and good luck for those having treatment 🤞

Scary I know but try try not to worry, they are definitely taking care of you. Far better to be safe than sorry. I too had multiple cancers, bladder cancer with chemo and a urostomy op then 18 months later breast cancer with lumpectomy and radiotherapy. They are still keeping an eye on me with regular scans and tests and it's now 8 years since the first diagnosis. Good Luck

I had breast cancer in 2012 then a melanoma on my arm in 2022. Mine was stage 1. I had the biopsy and then a second incision which did make the scar larger and uneven as it’s near my muscle. No other treatment needed apart from a mole check 6 months later.
So far so good. Hope your treatment goes well.
I don’t like the look of my arm but it has faded with time and things could have been so much worse.

I had the same. Now have an impressive scar which I tell people who ask that I was bitten by a shark! I have a very supportive doctor who doesn't mind if I ask to have a check on my skin health.

I was diagnosed MM stage IV in 2021. I’ve had surgery followed by two years of immunotherapy. Scans currently are clear. I’m being monitored 3monthly with scans and f2f appointments with my oncologist. So far, so good.

Take heart, Growstuff Addenbrookes is one of the centres of excellence I believe.

I would ask that radiotherapy start asap after the operation.

Lucky enough to have avoided cancer thus far (other than cervical pre-cancerous cells)

So wishing you the very best growstuff

🙏🙏 💖 💐

ordinarygirl

I would ask that radiotherapy start asap after the operation.

That may not be necessary.
DH was not offered it.

Stage 1
Almost everyone (around 100%) with stage 1 melanoma skin cancer will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Cancer Research UK.

Immunotherapy might be an alternative if the Consultant thinks it is necessary. Oral medication.

Whiff

Growstuff this goes back to 2000. I know there are better treatments for malignant melanoma nowadays but this is my husband's story. Warn you it's it's in detail if you don't want to read it.

October 2000 my husband came home from work he had been on site and thought he had caught his face. He had black hair and bushy beard and moustache. When I looked it was in hair line between top of his right ear and near his eye. It was bleeding . So patched him up but looked at our big medical book and it looked like just like a malignant melanoma. So next day got him an appointment with our GP who said it was a bleeding mole. Knew it wasn't so asked the receptionist which of our GP specialist in skin conditions. So he saw him, next week we saw a consultant dermatologist. He said it looked like a malignant melanoma but as it was so close to his eye needed to see the plastics consultant. But he did have the skin cancer McMillan nurse at the hospital to come and see us. 2 weeks later saw plastic consultant who says it was benign I said it wasn't. My husband had his biopsy on 27th December 2000. Had to walk to the hospital in the snow as we where snowed in . Had his biopsy under local anaesthetic.

January 2001 the consultant apologised to me it was a grade 4 malignant melanoma and given 5 years to live . He had the cancer removed it was 2mm so they had to go 2mm below the cancer to get it all and 2mm around the area . They took the skin from the left side of his neck for the skin graft . He had cut his beard down to goaty. Luckily my husband had good muscle deficiency and his eye didn't droop otherwise they would have had to pull it up.

He had 30 stitches in the graft and the edges of the skin went dry and died and the nurse had to do what was called picking and that involved pulling off the bits if dead skin . It was painful but my husband stayed still even though it brought tears to his eyes. We had to go every week for 3 months . The stitches where removed after 2 weeks and the graft healed well. He had a large oval scar on his face .

Only me and our children knew he wasn't going to live . It was very important to my husband now one knew he was going to die. As in his words he didn't want to to treated like a dead man walking . After the 3 months just went very month then every 3 months . We had to check his body for lumps every week.

Summer 2003 he had a cough . His consultant had read about a special blood test that showed the smallest cancer cells but it took time . September 2003 cancer was found after having a CT scan with dye. October 8th our world fell apart. We had lived with the sword of Damocles hanging over us and now it dropped. 6 tumours 3 in his right lung one in his chest and 2 by the optical nerve in his brain . His consultant had us there during lunch break he cleared the department just him and a nurse . I remember screaming and going out if the room and the nurse held me when I cried .

Went back in and he had arranged for use to see an oncologist on the afternoon. Where we where given the news he had 4 months to 2 years to live . But we knew it would be months. He would have palliative chemo every 3 weeks and radiotherapy in the February 2004 as my husband had lumps on his head that bled caused by the brain tumours. So he had a mask made to go over his face.

November 2003 had to stop him driving as he was going blind but from October to mid November he still wanted to work as he had a steel fabrication business with a partner . The men at the work took it in turns to fetch him and bring him home . But I told them he had a hour from when they got him there then bring him back . I always had to phone up after 2 hours and said to bring him home. Then I had to stop him going so he had files brought to him. Then Christmas after the holiday had to stop that.

Our McMillan nurse was brilliant it's only because of us had carers allowance and DLA. They had turned us down because my husband had been given 2 years.

Christmas 2003 we talked about his funeral as we knew he hadn't much longer . He wanted to get to his birthday which was 2nd February promised him we would get him there .

He was on the highest dose of morphine . Our McMillan nurse told us the higher dose would kill him . We had talked with the children about ending his life he it got to much for him . And I would have overdosed him if he wanted and blow the consequences.

My husband woke in the night screaming in pain he put a pillow over his face so the children wouldn't hear until the liquid morphine sent him to sleep. When he was to weak he begged me to hold it so I did .

He reached his birthday in hospital as he had collapsed. He was told the day after he had 5 weeks to live . Because of needing oxygen he came home on the Wednesday afternoon as the oxygen had been delivered and shown how to change the tanks .

My husband died in agony on the Friday unable to breath on full oxygen and on a morphine pump. I looked at the children and told my husband to stop struggling we would be ok he was unconscious but heard me he died few minutes later at 1.27 pm 6th February 2004 . I was 45 out children 20 and 16. Should say I had a phone call from the hospital as he missed his first radiotherapy I remember screaming at the nurse he was doing busy dieing to come . But I did ring back on the Monday to apologise and spoke to the same nurse .

This is my husband's story . But there are treatments now even for grade 4 malignant melanoma which can expand a person's life span . Things have improved so much in the treatment of many cancers .

Like I said this started 2000 and ended on 2004. I. Those days you where given enough morphine to kill several herds of elephants. My son took 2 carrier bags of tablets and liquid morphine to the pharmacy on the Saturday.

No one jump on me this is what happened to us.

There is a thread about skin cancer I will see if I can find it and bump it up

All I can say is “wow”

Thanks for sharing and I send you and yours the very best xx