I was diagnosed with a Spitziod Melanoma in my left leg 6 years ago when I was 11 years old. This melanoma is extremely rare and living in South Africa they had to send my reports overseas to get a better opinion. For my operation they had to remove lymph-nodes from my upper thigh and to a wide excision of my left ankle. I am now cancer-free but have been living with LE ever since. The doctors did not expect me to get LE but it turned out that my body is not as strong as it should be. I am now almost 17 years old and school is absolutely hell with my leg. Living in Africa also means that any treatment or stockings needs to be imported which makes treating my LE very expensive. There also does not seem to be much understanding and support in South Africa. I would like to start a South African support group but everyone is so held back about this condition that it is very difficult to find others that are open about it. I would like to go into the research of LE as I feel it is a condition that is best understood by those who have it and I would love to help develop a cure for it. Maybe one day all this trouble and suffering would be a story of the past.