NBC CHANNEL 4 EVERYDAY HERO, July 3rd 2007
……………………………

My Melanoma Story:

Only a year and a 1/2 ago, I was a determined, active, healthy 24-year-old ready to attack my goals and start the rest of my life. On June 26th 2006 however, I received the terrifying news that my life was instead about to be attacked by a hidden beast; melanoma skin cancer. After a routine check-up with the dermatologist, I got the crippling phone call while at work. “Katie, if you have a moment, we’ve processed your pathology and I’d like to go over the results with you”. Whether it was her tone of voice, or the dread I felt within the pit of my stomach, I knew my life was forever changed. “We’ve unfortunately found your mole to be malignant melanoma skin cancer.”

That was it. My plans on training for a ½ marathon, moving and advancing my career, my trips for the rest of summer, they all came to a brutal halt, and one that I NEVER imagined would happen to me. How could I have cancer when less then 2 weeks ago I finished a 10k run, felt completely healthy and still had my whole life awaiting me? Although I now know much more than the average person does about melanoma, at the time of my diagnosis, all I knew was that it was uncommon and was the most serious form of skin cancer. I now also know it’s highly aggressive, deadly, hard to detect and for me, COMPLETELY LIFE CHANGING.

The following months consisted of educating myself on the disease, spreading the news to my loved ones, and undergoing 2 serious surgeries to fight this beast. After the dermatologist, I was referred to a surgical oncologist. I luckily live close to a renowned Cancer Center, and found a doctor who specialized in melanoma. Although I was in good hands, I quickly came to the realization that I still had no control over this situation. This feeling came after my first surgery to remove the primary lymph nodes in my upper right leg (where the malignant mole was located). We have lymph nodes everywhere, and the closest ones to my site were in my right groin. The goal of this surgery was to see if the cancer had stayed within my skin, or if it had spread to my body. After recovering for one week, I got the devastating news from my doctor. The cancer had spread to one of my lymph nodes, and within a matter of 2 weeks, my stage was ‘upgraded’ from stage 1 to high-risk stage 3 (out of 4).

The call came while I was home alone, and I wouldn’t wish that experience on my deepest of enemies. Unable to breathe, I laid on my floor shrieking in disbelief while I felt the worst panic rising up my spine. Although it only took 15 minutes for family to arrive, it was the longest, worst moment of my life. Right than and there I knew I was no longer going to fall into the 95% statistically with ‘curable melanoma’, and instead I slowly fell into a very dark, lonely and frightening place.

The purpose of my second surgery was to remove the rest of the surrounding lymph nodes to determine if the cancer had spread elsewhere. Less than 2 weeks after my 1st surgery, I again found myself in the hospital awaiting an even more intense recovery. This time around, the pain was unbelievable, and I was getting shots of morphine intervenesly every hour just to subdue my pain.

Melanoma and my recovery has left me with a 6″ scar on my leg, a 7″ wound on my groin, 2 incision marks where drainage tubes were sutured into my leg, complete numbness and nerve damage. More than a year and a 1/2 later, I still have a ways to go before I’ll be even halfway back to my old self again.

Throughout this nightmare, there have surprisingly been a few positive revelations. The pathology from the 2nd surgery (full lymph node dissection) luckily showed no further melanoma in my nodes and my doctor was able to say he believes me to be CANCER FREE (8/09/06). This by no means my fight with melanoma is over, for I still have a high chance this will reoccur, or that there are a few remaining cancerous cells lingering around. Because of this, I decided to take one more gigantic step and do Interferon for one year, which is a type of immunotherapy (comparable to chemotherapy but less intense).

I have accepted that I will never know exactly why this happened to me. It’s anyone’s guess whether it was simply in my genes and was unavoidable, if my sun-exposure was the reason, or if it was a combination of the two. Although melanoma is more likely in fair-skinned, light haired individuals (like myself), anyone can get it. Like many other young adults, I enjoyed laying out and felt I looked better with some color. It was addictive and I also experienced some bad sun burns (another factor in getting melanoma). I wouldn’t have classified myself as a tanning bed nazi by ANY means, but if I was better EDUCATED on melanoma and my potential for getting it, things might have been different.

About a week after I received the news I was luckily NED (No Evidence of Disease) something just clicked. I was on my way to a party friends were throwing for me when I realized my future. I decided I was going to try and put together a local benefit and raise some money for the Melanoma Research Foundation. I have never done anything more satisfying in my lifetime. I wasn’t an event planner, had little money and in only 2 months and we ended up raising over $3,000 for the idea of hope. I witnessed people affected by this horrible disease from the community coming together, throwing their money into this cause and it was simply amazing.

From that first Black Ribbon Benefit came tremendous outcomes. I have turned the BRB into a yearly event as it continues to grow immensely. We are now planning our 3rd Annual BRB and to date have raised over $10,000 for the war on melanoma. The MRF awarded a $100,000 research grant with part of our fundraising earnings along with several other melanoma events in April. I quickly began my very new venture as a survivor speaker, and in June 2007 was named an Everyday Hero by my local media. In July I successfully completed my very challenging Interferon chemotherapy treatment and since then have gotten much of my strength and health back.

As I sit here, writing this Benefit and health update today, I cannot predict my future, and I think I’ve finally come to terms with that. I’ve realized what matters most is holding your blessings very close to your heart and appreciating whatever it is in your life that makes it worth living. That is what keeps me going, that and THE IDEA OF HOPE. I know now that spreading hope is the only way we will beat this ugly disease. I’ve realized it truly is the most important thing in the world to ALWAYS maintain hope. Even in those darkest of hours, it should never be lost, for if you deeply believe & have the strength to hope amidst those dark hours, you have already succeeded. Please never loose hope, it’s an incredibly powerful thing that I have seen first hand have the ability to urge me on & keep me breathing.

Love,
Katie

~~~Katie’s War on Melanoma Timeline~~~

6/26/06 – Diagnosed (Stage 1)
7/11/06 – Sentinel Node Biopsy & Wide Leg Excision
(1 of 3 nodes positive, advanced to Stage 3)
7/31/06 –Full Lymph Node Dissection
(8 more nodes removed, 11 total)
8/9/06 –NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE!!!
(All other nodes clean)
9/11/06 –Interferon treatment, 1 year
10/20/06 – 1st Annual Black Ribbon Benefit
($3,500 raised for MRF)
(Research Grant awarded)
4/12/07 – 6 month follow ups, ALL CLEAN SCANS
5/20/07 –Ann’s Hope Melanoma Key Note Speaker
5/29/07 –Anderson’s Army Golf Outing, Speaker and BRB
7/1/07 –Finished Interferon Treatment
7/3/07—NBC 4 ‘Everyday Hero’ aired
8/9/07—1 YEAR CANCER FREE
9/8/07 – 2nd Annual Black Ribbon Benefit
($5,000 raised for MRF)