Lee Jordan .org.uk

Been a long time since I wrote here about the progress of my Melanoma. Since then I have been lifted out of uncertainty. I had a further operation for a biopsy on 2 moles and I’m being booked in to see specialists. Great news from the scans a small summary follows:

• CT scans were clear
• Imuune system response is great
• No enlarged nodes
• It could have been worse, there’s a chance it might get worse
• Green Tea is horrid, but then not everything that is good is nice

But ….. The Melanoma on my leg was very thick, 6mm, so I haven’t been let off the hook. Alarm bells start ringing when a Melanoma is more than 2mm thick, so as you can see I’m in a serious position with the thickness of this tumor. Things are clear and good at the moment, but that’s not to say that everything is now ok or that the whole thing is now finished. I found two moles that were concerning close to where I had the Melanoma tumors removed so I had to have a 5th operation. The biopsies came back as being clear, so no more surgery.

I have been booked in to see specialists, one guy is interested in node biopsy and clinical trials and the other guy is interested in chemotherapy. The chances of the node investigations helping my cause are slim and for the time being the chances of chemotherapy are very slim. We caught the Melanoma early enough so that there are no signs of spreading, but we didn’t get it early enough to make everything be ok.

The 6mm Melanoma on my leg has been classified as a Clarks Level 4 or 5 on a scale that only goes up to 5. Because of the thickness my outlook is not great, but I have every reason to fight, even though nothing is seriously wrong at the moment. The stats for my situation don’t bode well for me living passed my 34th birthday, in 10 years, but stats mean nothing. I have been able to guess that I’m at Stage 2b. It’s not uncommon for Stage2 trials or for people at stage 2 to be given chemotherapy. Stage 3 is where it has started moving and stage 4 is where it has moved to organs and is a serious threat to life and this is why Melanoma is so dangerous and at the same time scary, because moving up a stage could only take a few years. Everyone is keeping a close eye and hand on my case, if not my case then my groin and related lymph nodes CT scans should happen every 3 months along with my checkups. I was taught how to feel for enlarged lymph nodes and was reassured that not every mole with the ABC’s of Melanoma is evil.

So 6 months on, I can relax, this is now part of my life. After passing my driving test and starting a new job I had to have 5 operations on my leg, meaning that I had to hold off on the driving and also take some time out of work. Concern has been raised at work about that time off. Hopefully now I can get back to normal, as the summer approaches, with an increased respect for Sol. I’ve picked up the driving, with Pass Plus and am excited and nervous about taking that final step towards my own car. Cancer Research UK have been out in force along with the WHO warning of a Melanoma epidemic within 30 years amoung young people. It’s an epidemic now, and can affect people like me who never purposly set out to cook under the sun, but it was encouraging yet heartbreaking to see it getting media attention.

I wanted to say thank you to anyone who has supported me with action or with words … and trust him on the sunscreen (but always avoid the midday sun) Be SunSmart:

• Stay in the shade 11-3pm
• Make sure you never burn
• Always cover up
• Remember to take extra care of children
• Then use factor 15+ sunscreen

This entry was posted on Friday, March 25th, 2005 at 10:47 pm and is filed under Melanoma, My Cancer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.