Class 4 melanoma, which is slightly better than Class 5, the worst. That means it extends down into your deep tissue and puts you at high risk of metastasis, which is what kills people. Class 4 melanoma is not the same thing as Stage 4 cancer, however. So don't think I'm going to die next week.
Metastatic melanoma is notoriously resistant to chemo, radiation, and immuno boosters for some reason. A friend of mine died at 27 from this, and an acquaintance of mine died from it last Friday night, oddly. It's weird, and yesterday sucked. I spent 10 hours in the hospital while they assaulted my lymphatic system. Poking, injecting radioactive liquids, scanning with big machines, and then finally removing some lymph nodes to send off for histochemical testing. They must have jabbed me with needles 20 or 30 times yesterday. If it spreads, I'm pretty much f*cked. The mortality rate is high. One day at a time though.
You can get melanoma anywhere you have skin. It isn't always about sun exposure or genetics. Anyone can get it at any time. What may have saved me was a completely random trip to the dermatologist, who I hadn't been to in 15 years. A random, normal looking mole on my left thigh caught her attention immediately and she biopsied it that day. That was a month ago.
We'll see. The aches and pains I have in my abdomen worry me. A lot. I don't know yet if it's all related or just the result of worrying sick for a month. First things first. Getting my lymph results back on Thursday or Friday.