Experiences of melanoma
Stage Three Melanoma Patient
I was diagnosed back in March 2006 with a nodular Malignant Melanoma, which went from stage 2 to stage 3 quite rapidly during treatment. Here's what it looked like:
The melanoma is the black bit. Don't try to use this photo to diagnose yourself, they all look different. You can see what they mean by "funny" though, can't you?
I have had a number of operations, including a sentinel node biopsy and a lymph clearance, and have been free of detectable disease since June 2006. I have however had quite a few scares since then, and have had a number of CAT scans, a punch biopsy, and any number of visits to see dermatologists.
I
have learned all sorts of interesting things about the various lumps, bumps,
discolorations and spots which appear on the skin, which I would previously
have thought nothing about. I have also learned all sorts of
interesting things about how I feel about dying.
I had to work the NHS's system quite hard to get treatment approximating the
NICE guidelines, and was upset by the lack of information given to me on my
condition. I was further upset by NHS professionals suggesting to me that I
was out of conventional alternatives, and that I should pursue worthless
alternative techniques like the Gerson diet.
I have learned since then that the provision of no useful information is all
too common for melanoma patients. I have been trying to do something about
this on the Melanoma Board for some time, but contact with Katie Taylor's
mum and dad spurred me on to try to create a place on the web where solid
information, and links to sources of help and support was available.
In researching this, it turns out that there are such resources already, but
no-one I know with melanoma knows much about them. Hence this site.
I also have a blog.