Hi all,

I’ve only blogged previously on two of my epic traveling trips, in Europe and in NZ and they were both collective efforts, so here goes.

Firstly it was poignant how many blogs must have been made in peoples plights against this awful disease, after many variations finally the website allowed me to have wrestlingmelanoma. Even battlingmelanoma and Iwanttoliveforeverordietrying2 were taken.

For those who don’t know me, I’m a 27 year old Doctor who has just started the fight against metastatic melanoma, the story is also on my justgiving page.
https://www.justgiving.com/Mark-Sims5/
My life has changed inconceivably in the last week, I woke up on Wednesday morning in severe pain and went to my GP, prior to that and only really in hindsight I had a dry cough, very occasional 2/10 abdominal pain on my right side and a mild loss of appetite. I put these symptoms down to viral cough (even went to my GP), thought that I may have gallstones. I don’t want to fear anyone who is a GP into referring every 27 year old with those symptoms to a specialist as the health service would crumble and a lot of people would get unnecessary tests . However I presented with severe 8/10 abdominal pain on Wednesday, via my gp, to A&E at Kingston. Even then being a doctor I refused just to rock up to A&E, even though I could barely walk at this point.

Kingston hospital was absolutely fantastic, I was seen quickly seen by an A&E consultant who used his A&E US to look at my gallbladder and it looked a bit weird with a raised CRP. So at that time, the diagnosis the the GP and I thought I had, acute cholecystitis was most likely. Things quickly went downhill I had a chest XR which the CT2 in general surgery who was clerking me in told me wasn’t normal. I got my friend Matt to look as well because he’s a very competent doctor and also would always  be honest with me.

I then promptly went for an ultrasound scan of my gallbladder and abdomen to look for gallstones. This was a disaster the radiologist’s face looked bleaker and bleaker throughout the scan, I directly questioned her about why she looked that way but kept repeating that I needed a CT – she was right. I had the CT pretty instantly as you can count on radiologists to get scans faster than anyone else.

I was then met on the ward at around 1715 by the clerking doctor and a specialist skin care nurse. This was frightening because I knew my worst nightmare had happened, I had a thick melanoma on my scalp almost 12 years ago, and only if this had spread would she be stood there. The worst was told to me I have tumours in my spleen, liver and lung. The specialist skin care nurse was fantastic, the CT2 was great explaining as much as he could to my friends and family.

Then the flocking of guests began. My family and friends came together and things were never to be the same again.