For years, my mom was hypervigilant about putting sunscreen on us kids. She always wore hats and sunscreen. And she got biannual skin checks at her dermatologist and insisted we do the same. Why? Well, she had Stage 1 melanoma on her arm at the age of 28. Thankfully, her dad was a doctor. He caught the melanoma and it was removed promptly. At the time there was no thought to sentinel node biopsy. I don't think she even knows how thick the primary lesion was. But she went on to protect herself as she knew how, to get married, to have a long productive career, and to have two kids.
Now, 40 years later, she has been sick for about three weeks with nausea, severe fatigue, and a mild cough. She had a scan last week which revealed several lesions on her liver, including one about 5 cm, and a small one on her lung. She has not yet had a brain scan and I am concerned she may also have brain lesions; she has had periodic episodes of dizziness in the last 1-2 years.
We are awaiting the liver biopsy results, though her Primary Care Provider is confident the melanoma has returned. It seems likely given the nature of her symptoms and the lesions. (It seems most benign liver lesions are asymptomatic.)
So we are prepared for the worst and digesting as much information as we can about all the new treatments that have come along since 1970. Thankful there are so many options now that were previously unavailable.
In the meanwhile I know that healing is possible. Do you have a story of healing from metastatic melanoma? Or know of a good place to read them? If so, I would be so grateful to hear from you. 🙂
Steph
PS: And, I should note that I am also looking for stories of emotional healing from melanoma, I know many people do not heal physically but still heal along their journey.
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