stillhere

Do Not Lose Hope, If I’m alive on May 1, that will mark the 12th anniversary I was told I was going to die in a matter of a few weeks by a doctor who at one time was rated the #1 oncology surgeon in the USA. My sage with melanoma began in July 2001 when 2 days before I turned 50, I had a melanoma mole about half the size of my baby finger nail removed from my right upper arm. I was on the operating table for 6 hours while they continually sent in samples to the lab for analysis. They did a sentinel lymph node test on 4-5 nodes and they came back fine. I was told that no further treatment would be necessary other than seeing the plastic surgeon who did the operation and someone in dermatology every 90 days on an alternating basis. Nothing exciting happened until April 2008. My dermatologist felt something in my right armpit (I didn’t feel anything) and ordered a CT scan. The CT scan showed a growth slightly larger than a golf ball in my right armpit/lymph nodes. Due to the fact it was a matter of a few inches from the removed mole, the oncology surgeon I was referred to was sure it was melanoma and based on the size it had already spread to my brain and lungs and there was nothing that could be done. He ordered a PET scan done to give a better idea of exactly how long I had left, but he knew it wasn’t long. The PET scan was done on a Thursday and since I was doomed anyway, there was no rush request put on getting the results. I was 56 years old with a wife and a 16 year old son. I was much more concerned for them than I was for myself (that’s not to say I wasn’t concerned about myself). The following Friday (8 days after the scan) I got a phone call from the oncologists office. Yes, I did have a melanoma the size of a golf ball in my lymph nodes, but no it hadn’t spread at all. The only part of me that glowed was my right armpit. The following Wednesday I had basically a male mastectomy with all my lymph nodes removed from my armpit to my sternum. Since my first PET scan in 2008 I’ve had 4 additional ones, the most recent being in August 2019, and not a hint of a glow anywhere. The oncology surgeon believes that despite their best efforts, the doctors didn’t get all the melanoma out of me in 2001, so I may be going on 19 years being Stage III. I did not have any treatment done as the only treatment back in 2008 was Interferon and that was just too nasty.

I really don’t know why God has kept me alive all these years but I do know that it’s God and not the doctors that determine the length of our lives. We both know that truly life is to be lived and savored one day at a time. I often tell people that you wouldn’t think having cancer has a good side but it does in that I appreciate life and the people I love so much more than I did previously.

I will keep you and your family in my prayers and may we both continue to be NED.

Take care,

Al