UK Skin Cancer and Melanoma Patients

[lottie48]

Dear all
Please can you give me advice as i am new to the forum. My 74yr old father had a large melanoma removed 2 weeks ago, in fact 4 days after having seen the consultant. We saw the surgeon on wednesday who told us it was cancer and they had removed it all but histology advised that a further 3mm of healthy tissue should be removed as only 2mm was taken at the time of surgery.
We have an appointment to see the dermatologist on monday who hopefully will go over the results in detail. I have printed off the questions on the cancer research website. Should i be asking for further tests and a scan to check for any secondary cancer or is it that as they removed it all it would not have spread anywhere else? Sorry i am very ignorant to all this at the moment but i am trying to educate myself so i know how to work the NHS system. i've already had to chase the dermatology appointment who insisted my father didn't need a follow up appointment only that they be kept in 'the loop' with the surgeon!

[LynnPJ]

Hi Lottie - sorry to hear your father has been diagnosed with melanoma.
He seems to have been dealt with really promptly by the hospital. - it was only four days after seeing the consultant that the melanoma was removed - that was excellent.
It is very common for a further wider excision to be made - many of us on the forum have had this - and sometimes they do this with a skin graft - it is done as a kind of insurance policy try to prevent the melanoma coming back.
Usually - many facts are taken into consideration, - but the depth of the melanoma is a very important one. What was the actual depth of your father's melanoma ?- as this will be an important factor when the hospital were considering his after care.
If the melanoma was not very deep then it may be considered your father does not need further tests and investigation - but it is best to ask as many questions as you feel is helpful in his situation, - it does no harm.
They do seem to be a very efficient hospital.
Keep us informed
Lynn

[seanty]

Hi

everyone has lots of questions at this stage, and the NHS are often not too good at answering them, which is why I made this page.

[lottie48]

I've been told it's precautionary that further healthy tissue is being taken but reading on your forum other people have waited a couple of months for this as there's no urgency. My father is having it done 2 weeks after the initial removal of the melanoma and on the form to go on the waiting list the surgeon had put urgent. We find out tomorrow the depth of the melanoma but we already know from the surgeon that it was completely removed. should i be concerned about the urgency that everything is being done or are we just fortunate in having a very efficient hospital?
Your website and forum is great, i only wish i had found it early when i would have been more informed at the start.
When my father has the wider excision should i ask if they will also do a sentinel node biopsy?

[LynnPJ]

Hi Lottie, - I agree with you that Seanty's website is excellent and I too wish I had know all those facts when I very first went to my GP - but that is a long story and history........
I would not be too concerned about the word "urgent" - I was put on an urgent list for surgery, and yet when I telephoned the admissions department of the hospital was actually informed it would be several weeks before I could receive the surgery (this was for the first lot of surgery) - I actually ended up going privately - as I was so anxious - and like you wanted the anwer to many questions - and in fact the second lot of surgery I had was done 8 weeks after the first - but I have to say for me personally this was not a good thing as I became more and more anxious as the weeks dragged on.
Lottie - I think you must be a tremendously caring daughter to your father and don't be afraid to ask for anything you think would benefit him -
I have learned so much from this forum myself and Sean's informative website is such a help to anyone just diagnosed - oh how I wish this had been available three years ago.
Good luck and write down a list when you go with your Dad for the appointment tomorrow - and make sure you get the answers you are looking for.
Lynn

[lottie48]

thank you Lynn,
it is great to have the forum as a form of support, almost like a crutch, people to talk to who have been in your situation already and understand what you are going through! I am experiencing the problem of my boss not being sympathetic to me wanting time off to attend these appointments with my parents, they wouldn't know the questions to ask. At the moment i am on a big learning curve but like you said i will be armed with lots of questions to ask tomorrow.
My father thinks that as the surgeon said he had removed all the cancer that's the end of it, i only hope he's right!!!

[Caroline]

Hi Lottie, sorry to hear about your father's diagnosis.
Do not let your boss make you feel bad about attending hospital appointments with your parents. The problem is that people don't understand how serious melanoma is, I had problems with my old boss. I am a primary school teacher, and I had melanoma earlier this year. We had sports day a week after my WLE and I told him I was concerned about being out in the sun for 3 hours and asked if I could come in to re-apply sun cream, he told me 'that would be a bit like shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted'!!! I ended up being signed off with stress for a week!
Let us know how it goes at the hospital

[lottie48]

thank you Caroline,
I too work in a school but as a TA, have hardly ever asked for time off as i have made all appointments for my children in the holidays. In future i just intend going sick and am already looking for a new job!
I'll let you know how i get on tomorrow
susan

[lottie48]

Have been to the hospital today. Dad's melanoma was 2.3mm, a sentinel node biopsy was mentioned as a reassurance that all the cancer had gone but if it was positive they wouldn't be able to operate on the lymph nodes as the operation would be too much for my father!! Also means no point in a CT scan either. He had a mole map today, the wider excision is next week, he's to have an x-ray and be seen in 3 months.
Although the hospital and consultant were absolutely fantastic and reassured my father that the cancer was 99% gone, there's always that doubt and worry that should it return he can't be operated on! (He also suffers with scirros of the liver through years of alcohol abuse).
I still went to work after having dropped my parents home and cried all the way!!!!
Susan
I'd love any reassurance i can get right now!

[Janet2]

Hi Lottie,

I am so glad your father has such a supportive daughter and I am sure it is a great help to him.

It may be worth him having the sentinel node biopsy, which I hope would be negative. This could then give you some reassurance. It is good that he had a mole map done and having an x-ray in three months. I hope his operation goes well next week and that he makes a speedy recovery from it.

Please keep us posted, if you can, as to how he goes on.
Best wishes, Janet

[lottie48]

Hi Janet
Thank you for your post.
Dad has already turned down the sentinel node biopsy, i must admit i don't know what we'd do if it came back positive as he couldn't be operated on.
The consultant said just to go away and enjoy life and he'd have his regular checkups, i think it must just be me but my two sisters thought it was great news!
Susan