Hi,

I'm so sorry that you have been diagnosed with melanoma on top of your other health problems. Have they said what the depth was or what stage you are? Are you now waiting for further surgery (a wide local excision) to remove further tissue? Hopefully having someone to talk about it to will help you get through this. 

Angie (melanoma patient)

Nice to meet you Angie.

I have phone calls to give me appointments for my pre-op assessment which is next Tuesday, and I will have surgery on 23rd September. I will be having a wide excision, probably involving a skin graft and a sentinel node biopsy too. 

The consultant said my melanoma was 8mm thick, and that I am Stage 2. I’ll get through it, but am feeling very sorry for myself. Did you feel the same?

Yes I did feel very sorry for myself - more so the first time because I was diagnosed before social media & forums like these were around so I went into it all with only the information from the hospital. It wasn't until I was diagnosed Stage 3 10 years ago that I sought out information on the internet & I found it really helpful - at least patients now aren't walking into the unknown if they do some research first.

It's normal to feel like you do, be kind to yourself and go with the flow. I've sent you a friend request so we can chat by private message if you want to. Take care & good luck,

Angie