I am a cancer survivor...

May is Melanoma Awareness Month. I thank God that I can say I am a 12 year survivor of this horrible cancer. Although melanoma accounts for only about 4 to 5 percent of all skin cancer cases, it is the most dangerous type of skin cancer. It is the leading cause of death from skin disease.

I just lost a friend last month to this terrible disease; he was only 35 years old.

The chance of developing melanoma increases with age, yet it is still one of the most common cancers in young adults. Skin cancer affects one in five Americans, and more than 1 million new cases are diagnosed each year. Of these cases, more than 65,000 are melanoma, a cancer that claims nearly 11,000 lives each year.

Melanoma Prognosis

Treatment success depends on many factors, including the patient's general health and whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes or other organs.

If caught early, melanoma can be cured. The risk of the cancer coming back increases with the depth of the tumor -- deeper tumors are more likely to come back. If the cancer has spread to lymph nodes, there is a greater chance that the melanoma will come back.

For melanoma that has spread to other tissues and organs, the cure rate is low. Melanoma that has spread may lead to death.

My Story

Twelve and a half years ago on November 30th, 1997, I had a very sleepless night; actually, the whole weekend had been a restless one. It was a Sunday night and I had received a call on Friday morning from my doctor’s office asking that my husband and I both be in his office first thing on Monday morning. We were in the Christmas mode, as it happened to be the Friday after Thanksgiving and we were in the middle of putting up Christmas decorations in our house.

I remember exactly where I was standing in the house when I took the call and exactly where my ex was standing when I told him. One of those times, which will be forever frozen in my memory. From the time I got the call, I just knew that I had cancer. Unfortunately, I was right and I was only 29 years old. I remember thinking how strange it was that I was not sick, nor did I feel bad, yet I had something deadly growing inside me.

I was born with a mole in my groin area, right around my panty line. In the fall of 1997, this mole started bleeding. At first, I thought I had just irritated it putting on pantyhose or something but it just would not get any better. When I went to the doctor he thought the same thing as I did, as it did not have any markings that would make him think it was cancer, but he went ahead, removed it, and sent it to pathology.

Let me stress to you that maybe reading…I know every year we see in the magazines what cancerous moles are “supposed” to look like and mine had no characteristics of any of those, yet it was cancerous. So please if you have any moles that you question, have them checked out immediately.

When the test results came back, the doctor was “shocked” to find out that it was melanoma. I was given the news on a Monday and he wanted to perform surgery immediately, because with melanoma your greatest chance for survival is getting it all, as this type of cancer does not respond well to traditional forms of cancer treatment. Another reason that early detection is so important.

The surgery was scheduled for 2 days later, as they did not want to waste any time and the surgery was to go in and do a “wide extraction” and make sure all of the cancer was removed, especially since the groin area is surrounded by lymph nodes. Needless to say, I was in shock too, as was my family and everything happened so fast that I really did not have time to comprehend all that was happening.

Now I realize that was probably a blessing. I can honestly say that I really never thought I was going to die. My first thought was okay, “what do we do to get rid of it.” Please don’t take that to mean I wasn’t scared, because I was terrified but I guess because it happed so quickly and I felt fine, I just never let the death scenario take over my mind. I do remember thinking “okay you can’t let this fear overtake you.”

I also remember telling myself that I could not allow every ache and pain I had for the rest of my life, terrify me or make me think “oh this must be cancer.” I am a firm believer that your attitude has a lot to do with how well you respond to medical situations…that and a lot of godly people praying for you, which I was fortunate to have.

Once I had the initial surgery, the report came back a little suspicious, so I was referred to another oncologist who specializes in melanomas. This was another huge blessing, as we have wonderful doctors and hospitals right here in the Atlanta area and I was treated at Emory. The oncologist was great and very thorough and had a wonderful bedside manner. However, after reviewing my records, he wanted to go back in and remove some lymph nodes just to be sure.

This surgery was actually worse than the first one, because they were re-opening the incision that had just been closed and I had to have drain tubes for about 8 weeks. All very small inconveniences in the grand scheme of things.

Praise Father God the results of the second surgery came back clear. However, forevermore, I will need to been seen by my oncologist just to be on the safe side. Of course, being a fair skinned and redheaded, I have never been a sun worshiper, but this definitely puts me at a higher risk.

It is so strange to be told, that you have something as horrible as cancer and not even feel sick. I kept thinking how could I have this killer disease growing inside me and not even feel bad. I truly feel like God healed me of this evil report. I know the doctors did the surgery but they were just the tools for Father God to work his miracles.

My life has changed a great deal in 12 years. I am no longer married and my Grandmother, who prayed so for me, is no longer with us but one thing has remained the same and that is the grace and mercy of my loving Father God.