20 Years Old and Internally Freaking Out

This topic has 4 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 7 years ago by almostalice.

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- April 26, 2018 at 7:58 pm
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maddiecmac
Participant
Hey all! I had a mole removed from my hairline on the left side of my forehead a week ago. I just received my diagnosis yesterday and I don't know much about it, as I never got the pathology report, just told that the biopsy showed melanoma, but no one told me what stage or anything like that. It was told to me that it was 0.5 mm and no signs of ulceration. I have a consultation with a surgical oncologist to talk about further excision on May 7th.

I'm honestly freaking out and I can't stop googling, which is the worst thing I can do.

I know it's all a waiting game from here on out and I'm trying to distract myself with studying for finals, but it's only going so well.

I've had a swollen lymph node on the left side of my neck for longer than I can remember and it's hard to touch and doesn't move. On the right side of my neck the lymph node is a bit swollen as well, but not hard to touch and moves when pressed.

How likely is it that this is stage III?

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- - April 26, 2018 at 8:51 pm
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  cancersnewnormal
  Participant
  If someone informed you of what the biopsy showed, there must be a pathology report at the office of the doc who did the removal. I'd strongly suggest calling them and either picking up a copy, or having them email it to you. It will arm you with more information to ask questions when you meet with the surgical oncologist. It's always good to have copies of your results… it allows you to ensure that every medical person you come across has the same set of information.
- - April 27, 2018 at 7:16 am
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  oliverjterry
  Participant
  Hi there. I'm not a doctor, but a patient, recently made aware that I have at least stage III melanoma. As you may or may not know, 0.5mm with no ulceration is not that "bad" as far as melanoma goes. (For what that's worth) The consultation for further excision is likely to remove the appropriate margins around the site of the melanoma – for mine, they took an addition 1cm of skin both times, as that has been shown to prevent recurrence in an overwhelming majority of cases. In the absence of anything else, your melanoma would be a Stage I.
  
  I will tell you what my doctor told me – that until you have further information, there isn't really anything that you can do. It really sucks to be uncertain and wait. My advice is to stay positive and realistic. Whatever happens will happen, although you should definitely work hard to stay on top of your care. Definitely bring up the lymph nodes to your doctor, though – they may be related, or they may be something else.
- - April 28, 2018 at 1:12 am
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  majahops
  Participant
  If your depth is indeed 0.5 mm at the end of all of this, you have an extremely high probability of being cured.
- - May 8, 2018 at 5:58 pm
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  almostalice
  Participant
  It’s not likely to come in at stage 3. I understand the location might be causing you anxiety.
  
  Your situation looks good, try to focus on your study. When I went through my freakout berween biopsy and results after graduating at 23 with student debt and a new job I was determined to pass my driving test so I didn’t have to get to appointments and work a sobbing mess on the bus.