The past couple of weeks have just been getting moved from one doctor to another, but it looks like I'm with the best lot now. I had some trouble registering for a GP. For a while, the NHS trust refused to offer me treatment, as I'd been living outside the UK for so long, but fortunately my aunt works with the trust and went in and bent some ears and got it sorted.
After getting registered with a GP, I got referred to Mount Vernon oncology center at the end of the first week. At Mt. Vernon they gave me a PET scan and the basic prognosis. The PET scan showed nothing further--so it's not spread to my lungs or brain, which is, you know, nice. However, the consultant was pretty blunt; he said that it's very rare to eliminate cancer completely once it's spread, and that especially holds true for melanoma. He also said that there's a 90% chance that the cancer has spread to other parts in my body, but it doesn't show on the PET scan as the scan can only pick up tumors around 1cm or larger. He also said that the NHS doesn't offer chemo for melanoma as it doesn't actually affect survival time--it just lengthens the time to recurrence, and the side effects are horrendous (thus reducing hardiness for surgery, which is the only real solution). So . . . pretty much what I'd read about the non effects of chemo. Kind of surprising that the NHS doesn't offer it, but it doesn't make any difference in overall survival. On the bright side, he said that it looks as if I may be one of the few people for whom surgery is an option--seeing as I only have resolvable tumors in three places. He thinks the tumor in my abdomen is probably attached to either my bowel or the mesentery--the abdominal wall. He also said that the surgeon is going to need to take a look before any surgery--and if the surgeon sees numerous minor tumors (smaller than 1 cm), then they're not going to operate, as it wouldn't really do much good. He then referred me to a surgical oncology unit--the Royal Marsden in Kensington.
Thursday last week I went down to the Royal Marsden. I got seen by an oncologist and a surgical oncologist. They took another biopsy (and my leg wouldn't stop bleeding for about forty minutes, which kind of sucked), and booked me in for another appointment next Thursday.
Basically, I think the procedure will be: 1) exploratory surgery to see it the tumor is resectable. 2) If it is, then resection of all tumors. This will lay me out for about two weeks I think, following the surgery. There's no chemo afterward, but I'll have to go back for check ups every three months or so. If the tumor is not resectable, then they'll have to think about what they want to do next.
I'll write more when I know more.
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