Melanoma Cancer Survivor

Heather
B.
Maryland

I was diagnosed with melanoma 6 years ago, when I was 34. I had a mole on my stomach that started to flake and looked red. I assumed that it was from my waist band rubbing and irritating the mole. When I went to my doctor for my annual physical, I asked if I could have it removed. She referred me to a surgeon who removed the mole in his office and sent it to a lab for testing. A week or so went by and I received a call that it was melanoma. When you hear the word "cancer" you immediately assume the worst. I asked my surgeon if I could die from this and he said (with no emotion) yes. I cried the whole drive home and that evening.

Day of surgery, I walked into the operating room and 3 hours later I woke up in the recovery room to hear the good news; “the cancer had not spread in to my stomach muscle.” I went on to recover, happy that this was behind me. Unfortunately, less than 12 months later, I was diagnosed with my second melanoma on my chest. I went for my 3 month check up with my dermatologist and she removed 2 suspicious moles. She sent them out for testing and a week later I got the call that the one on my chest was melanoma. This mole was smaller than a pencil eraser, how could it be melanoma? A plastic surgeon removed the mole and a week later I got the good news that the cancer had not spread. 0 for 2.

When I say that I had melanoma most people’s first question is “did you sunbathe a lot when you were younger?” When I say no, they’re shocked. And the next question is usually “how was it caught?” At that point I get to educate them about the importance of skin exams, sunscreen and avoiding the sun during peak hours. I am happy to say that I have been melanoma free for 5 years. I have a routine exam with my dermatologist every 5-6 months now and will for the rest of my life. We need to continue to get the word out about early detection and I will continue to share my story with everyone I meet because the general public needs to know that melanoma is a serious form of cancer and can be fatal if not detected early. It can happen to anyone. I wish someone would’ve told me.

I agree

Comments

Submitted by Dana Purpura on November 13, 2009 - 07:23.

I've just learned that I have my second mole diagnosed as melanoma. If you have it once, there is a GOOD chance you WILL get it again. One of the things I learned about melanoma that I didn't know was that it can reappear anywhere on your body. They told me that once you have had it, it can show up again anywhere there is pigment, no matter if that area has been exposed to the sun or not! I used to kid myself into believing that because I tanned in a tanning booth that doesn't let UVB rays out,( the burning rays), that I was completely safe; not so. People... please educate yourselves about the sun.

Submitted by Miri on November 1, 2011 - 05:23.

I was diagnosed with Melanoma at 17, after my mom heard a bit on the radio about 'keeping an eye on moles" and noticed a large one on my back. I had three surgeries to get negative margins. Since then I have been diligent about checking myself and going for dermatologist follow-ups. I have had many, many pre-cancerous lesions removed, and my parents even got a call from a prestigious cancer center 20 years after, asking if I was still kicking. Am I ever!

I thought I was doing enough with healthy lifestyle changes, but in April of this year, 28 years after my Melanoma diagnosis, I was diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma In Situ, otherwise known as Stage 0 Breast Cancer. Like many, many people with cancer before me, it is just by chance that I received my diagnosis after a bad mammogram-- for some reason, no one called me to let me know something had been found on my film, and it was when I went to my PCP for a sore throat and happened to ask about the results of my mammogram that my doctor noticed that I should followup because all was not well in boobie land. This was FOUR months later! If it had been a different type of cancer, my oncologist told me, those four months could have been fatal. Since then, I've had a bilateral mastectomy and my uterus and ovaries removed to avoid future cancers.

Early detection has helped save me not one, but countless times, but it is not enough. In addition to early detection, you MUST be your own health advocate! Don't assume "no news is good news" if you don't hear something after the results of mammogram, biopsy, or test. Keep records of all procedures, save surgical reports. You don't want your parents to have to tell that clinic that calls 20 years later to have to tell them you are gone, do you?

Early detection saved

Submitted by Dyble on May 1, 2012 - 20:11.

I too have secondary melanoma a year ago in 2010 i was diagnosed wuth a melanoma on my bellybutton this returned ad a lump in my groin in october 2011 ive now had two operations a large cut from almost half way up the top of my leg to me belly button and am now undergoing radiation at brisbane pa hospital. Im hoping for this yo never return

Submitted by Dyble on May 1, 2012 - 20:12.

I too have secondary melanoma a year ago in 2010 i was diagnosed wuth a melanoma on my bellybutton this returned ad a lump in my groin in october 2011 ive now had two operations a large cut from almost half way up the top of my leg to me belly button and am now undergoing radiation at brisbane pa hospital. Im hoping for this yo never return