Early March, 2026
Pre-op assessment
It’s now March, and I have the date for my next operation – 11th March. Again, I can’t speak highly enough of the NHS. I hear all of these stories about being slow, and not caring. My view is the complete opposite. I have seen so much care, attention and urgency offered to me over the last few months and I can’t say thanks enough. I’ve mentioned Kerrie in a previous Blog. But I have also had some great chats with Cathy, another member of the Skin Cancer Nursing Team at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford. Cathy has been great, phoning me every now and again to see how I am doing / offering me advice and sharing some really useful info. I have tried to do the same by sharing the same info within the ‘Melanoma Info’ section of the Blog in case any of the info helps you as well.
Prior to my op, just over a week before the op, I am ask to go back to the plastic surgery department at the John Radcliffe (JR) for some checks just to make sure I am fit and healthy. These checks include height, weight and a number of questions (mostly yes/no questions) about my previous health etc. In case you are scared of needles, it’s worth knowing that there is also a blood test taken.
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
Lisa and I head back to the JR a week later, as I also need to visit the Nuclear Medicine dept on the 10th March to have the radioactive tracer injected which will be used to identify the lymph nodes that need to be removed the next day. Again prior to the injection, I am asked to complete a quick summary regarding my health just to make sure it is safe to inject me. When I get into the room, it is explained to me that the injection needs to be given 24 hours or less before the op otherwise the tracer can weaken and not be effective. I’m told that I’ll be having four different injections of the tracer put into my forearm, around the scar. As a wimp, I can’t help but say that I am not a fan of needles at the best of times so you can imagine the dread I have when I hear I’ll be having four injections! To lessen the dread, I’m given a cream which numbs the skin. I’m told that it takes about 60 mins for the cream to kick in, so off we go to the cafe for an hour before the injections are given!
After a nice bacon roll and hot chocolate, Lisa and I head back into the Nuclear Medicine dept for the injections. As is always the case, the nurse giving me the injections is really kind and is making all sorts of small talk as the injections are applied. Being the wimp I am, I don’t watch a single injection and instead look towards Lisa/the wall behind her. I must say that the cream really works though because I never felt a thing during any of the four injections.
The injections are all finished and I’m given a bit of gauze to protect any bleeding. But that’s not the end of my visit!
I’m then taken to a room with one of the coolest machines I have ever seen. I’m told that it is a type of X-Ray machine that will track the tracers that were injected into me to identify which lymph nodes the tracer goes to. I’m ask to sit in the machine for 20 mins or so whilst various scans of my body are taken. There is a monitor alongside the scanner and you can see a template of your body and gradually lots of white dots start appearing from my arm and gradually these turn into bigger white dots where the tracer lands at the lymph nodes. At the end of the scans, the images are reviewed to see where the lymph nodes are and some markings are made in my armpit to show where they are. The surgeons in the operation will use these markings as another method of identifying the nodes to take out. After the scan finishes, I’m told I can go home.
Proud of my Scar 
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