Melanoma Removal

When my sister commented on how a mole I'd had for years looked on my leg, I thought I'd better get it looked at. I visited my GP who said "that doesn't look good" and within hours I had an appointment with Paul Banwell scheduled for the following week. I didn't think much about the appointment beforehand, I didn't have any expectations and if I'm being totally honest I was probably a bit naive and blasé about it. On first meeting Paul I instantly felt at ease, he was incredibly thorough and after looking at my body and the questionable mole, he sat me down. I suppose I wasn't really prepared for what he was about to say but he has such a way with words that I'll never forget them. He suspected melanoma and the moment he said that word I knew it was serious. Even though I could feel the panic set in, the way he explained every detail of what would happen next, a sense of calm remained in me. I first needed to have the mole itself removed, which would be sent off for testing. When the results came back 'malignant melanoma' I felt I was already well equipped to deal with it based on the knowledge Paul had given me (after all, he is the best in this field) but most importantly I knew I felt safe in his care. At that time I'd only met Paul a few times, but had already built a very good rapport with him and that was extremely important to me, I trusted him. Leading up to my operation, I was worried about needing to have a skin flap, it's something I didn't want. Paul assured me that he would do everything he could to close my leg without one and I trusted he would do just that! On the day of my wide local excision, I wasn't nervous, I knew I would be entirely looked after and I felt completely calm. I saw Paul as I was laying in theatre waiting to be anaesthetised, he put me at ease once again and off I went. The first thing I asked when I came round was "has he closed the wound", the nurse said "yes he has". I was over the moon! My follow up care has been second to none, I couldn't ask for a more caring and dedicated surgeon. I tell anyone who asks about my melanoma story, how lucky I am to have Paul - I will be forever grateful to him.