Melanoma Monday

I wear black for me!

May is Skin Cancer Awareness month. The first Monday in May is set aside as Melanoma Monday. Melanoma is the most common cancer in 25-29 year olds. I was diagnosed when I was 29. Melanoma is deadly and the rates of Melanoma diagnosis are rising at an alarming rate. One phrase that is common in the Melanoma world is “Melanoma is not JUST skin cancer.” Melanoma is deadly because it grows within the body and spreads like wildfire. I have battled Melanoma on my skin, in my lymph nodes, in my lungs, and in my brain.

Tomorrow I will be wearing black along with my sweet family and many friends to raise awareness of this deadly cancer. I will be wearing black for me, but also for the 492 warriors and support people in my online support group. I am also wearing black in memory of Amy, Al, Jackie, Steve, Jen and Jillian. I would be honored if you would join me in shouting Mela-NO-mas! tomorrow by wearing black!

The American Academy of Dermatology decided to make wearing orange their rally cry for Melanoma Monday this year through their Spot Orange campaign. I am not sure of their reasoning behind the change from black, because the Melanoma ribbon is black, but I would be honored equally by anyone who wears orange or black tomorrow for the purpose of raising Melanoma awareness.

I would LOVE for you to join me in wearing black tomorrow! Danny created an image for me using the Jillian Hayes Foundation’s frame to share why you are wearing black. If you would like, I would be so honored if you would share this image with others!

Anti PD-1: A New Hope

Daniel and me at the Melanoma Walk in October 2012!

The right sidebar of my blog contains a list of my history with Melanoma. It is quite an extensive list. I am blessed to have been diagnosed at the “best time” in history to have Melanoma. Progress that has eluded researchers for many years is finally being made in treating this horrible cancer. Did you know that doctors have been able to cure Melanoma in rats for a number of years? It is frustrating that they haven’t been able to do the same in humans.

A little over two weeks ago I began a new drug that is in clinical trial and showing great promise for treating Melanoma. There is a coating on some cancer cells called Programmed Death 1(PD-1). When the immune system attempts to attack the cancer, the PD-1 hits the self destruct button on the immune cells. The Anti PD-1 drug turns off this mechanism and allows the immune system to fight the cancer. Besides having a good success rate in patients, another wonderful aspect of this drug is that is has very few side effects! I have had a bit of fatigue, a tiny bit of joint pain in my left wrist, and I noticed some dry patches developing on the insides of my elbows and on my back. I’ll take it! And the new hope this drug offers! I receive my next dose on Thursday. Bring it on!

Recurrence three pre-surgery update

I am going in tomorrow for removal of tumors on my back. It is pretty clear that this is another Melanoma recurrence. We will need to come up with a new treatment plan in the next few weeks. For now I appreciate prayers for a simple but complete removal tomorrow.
God is as good as he was when I was given my cancer free designation 4 weeks ago. We continue to ask Him to guide us in each new step.
I read this week that this is the “year of melanoma” and that advances in melanoma are being made “at light speed.” If you’d like to show your support, we’d love for you to come walk with team ¡Mela-no-mas! or contribute to our team. Information is found in the link below.
I also would LOVE to know you are praying for me if you are willing to comment. Thanks for loving my family and walking with us through this so often discouraging journey.

http://fightmelanomatoday.org/teams/%C2%A1mela-no-mas/

Interferon Day 3 and the weekend

Finishing up my first week of Interferon was pretty easy. I got a private room for my treatment on Friday which mean I got a real bed and a TV! At the end of my treatment, the access to my port was removed along with the gauze covering my two incisions. I’m pretty bruised, but the incisions aren’t bad. I have numbing cream to prepare the area to be accessed again on Monday. I’m a little nervous about that process! Friday afternoon was much like Thursday. I slept until Danny got home and then felt good for the evening.

Saturday I woke up feeling good and normal! It was a nice surprise. We took it easy for most of the day and went out to dinner with my parents and then took the kids to Frost. It was warm enough to be out without jackets and walking around the shopping center with the kids was a blast! It was a totally unexpected gift to feel so good!

It was a surprise on Sunday to wake up feeling blah. I had a headache and shakes when I woke up (a little like low blood sugar shakes, but less severe.) I fought fatigue and dizziness most of the day. Kinda lame, but I’m going to have to learn to take advantage of the good days and rest on the bad. Tomorrow begins my first full week of treatment, I appreciate your prayers!

Interferon day 2

Yesterday I woke up feeling great! My port was sore (I have two incisions that need to heal.) So I took some pain meds and got ready for the day. I even felt good enough to help the kids get dressed for school. My sweet friend Tina picked me up and drove me to The Cancer Center with her 11 month old adorable son Timothy. Danny stayed home to finish getting the kids ready for school and drop them off. I got my port plugged in and set up with my pre-interferon pepcid and benedryl. Filled the nurse in on my side effects from Wednesday. She hooked me up with numbing cream to prepare my port for the new needle on Monday (they’ll take out the access today.) And Agnes and Carrie (NP and nurse who work with my oncologist) came to visit me and wrote a prescription for anti-nausea meds for me. The benedryl knocked me out quickly after that and I slept through the rest. Danny picked me up and dropped me off at home. I made him pick up the anti-nausea meds for me, which of course I didn’t need then. I slept until Danny came home and felt good last night! The kids spent the night at my folks which makes the morning easy for us!

Today I’m looking forward to being finished for the week! Getting the port access out so I can shower (my hair is GREASY!) Removal of the bandages on my port wounds (the tape is itchy!) Playing with the kids this weekend and celebrating that so far I feel MUCH better than I expected to! I have been warned that the effects of the Interferon can be cumulative, so I may end up crashing more than I want to. Time to get socks and shoes on and head out for day 3!

Thanks for the prayers!!! (this hasn’t been proof read, forgive me!)

Port and Interferon Day 1

A very quick update before I get ready to head to The Cancer Center again this morning. Yesterday went about as well or better than I hoped. Having the port placed was slightly more traumatic than I anticipated. Mostly because the schedule was messed up and I was in the OR all prepped on the cold, cold table for a LONG time before the Dr showed up and they gave me the “I don’t care what you do” drugs. I actually have a double port which is allowing my chemo to go faster! The other patients in the room with me yesterday were jealous and my nurse was delighted.

The facitity and nurse were awesome yesterday. The other patients were very warm and sweet too. One of my pre drugs is benedryl, so I slept for most of my infusion. I’d guess that will be common. I got the shakes as we left, but they went away quickly. I was still pretty tired, so I went straight to bed when we got home. At home, my stomach got upset and I got sick a couple times. We got home at around 5 and it was bad until about 8:30 when Danny brought me my next dose of pain killers and benedryl. After that I felt better, snacked a little, and fell asleep and was out most of the night. I’m feeling good this morning, other than my port being sore.

Thanks to everyone for the prayers. Today my treatment is at 9. Danny will bring me home afterward and I’ll be on my own for the afternoon. (Hopefully I’ll just sleep.) The first day is supposed to be the worst and it’s behind me! Hurray!

A Mommy timeout from the policeman

I got pulled over today for the first time in 10 years. 2nd time ever. Our tags expired in May ’09 (my mouth dropped when he told me.) No registration in the glove compartment, proof of insurance expired 2 days ago… thankfully legally we’re caught up, but my paperwork was sorely lacking. We misplaced the new tags back in May and just never thought about it. Thankfully the officer was super gracious and wrote me a warning. Scolded me for not ordering a new license with my current address (although it was changed in the system.) I cried, which drove ME crazy, but I was thankful for a warning and the chance to correct things before I got a ticket. I was trying to figure out how I was going to fit going to traffic school in with chemo (which prompted the tears.) I’m such a pleaser and have a more than healthy fear of authority, it’s a BIG deal to be pulled over. I think I can laugh about the comedy of errors now…. I think!

In other good news, my lung function test went fine. I was a little below average, but I didn’t tell the 50 year old man who was doing my test that my spanx I’m using to prevent my lymphedema swelling may have limited my breathing some. Teehee!

The coming week and my inner preacher escapes a bit

I AM beginning my year of interferon treatment this Wednesday! I am ready to begin actively fighting! I’m also frightened about embarking on this journey in which I don’t know what to expect. My next blog post is going to be a list of side effects of interferon since they are different than with traditional chemotherapy. I’m hoping that my prayer warriors will be able to pray specifically against the side affects.

Monday I have an appointment at UMC for a pulmonary function test. The kids are going to hang out at work with Danny while I have that done. It’s supposed to be quick! Wednesday morning I have to be at UMC at 8am (EARLY for us!) to have my portacath installed*. That procedure will take up most of the morning. At noon, I am to report to The Cancer Center. At 1pm, I am scheduled for another baseline x-ray. Then at 2:30, I have my first Intron Alfa-2b Treatment. The treatment will take 2-3 hours, so we’ll head home around 5pm to see what fabulous side effects I’ll enjoy! (The first dose apparently is the worst and it usually gets better from there.) Thursday I have to be at The Cancer Center at 9am for my second treatment. My sweet friend Tina has agreed to drive me there so Danny can get our kids off to preschool. Friday is another interferon treatment, but I don’t know the time yet. The positive thing about having to be at The Cancer Center for 3 hours a day/ 5 days a week is I anticipate the time will go quickly!

Thanks to everyone who is praying for me and has taken the time to read all the details of my week. I know that typing this out helps me process everything. I read an incredible perspective of suffering and healing on Beth Moore’s LPM blog today. I am hoping to share this attitude of expectancy for the change God has to do in my heart and spirit. Not bad change, but His transforming work. As Beth said, I will NOT end this journey the same as I began it. “If I am[the same], I will have missed something huge. Something vital. Something life-changing between Jesus and me. And I do not plan to miss it for this world. It’s why He has me here. ” I’ve prayed that God would transform me to love like Him at ANY cost. I don’t plan to waste this experience.

Amen and amen!

*I will be considering myself part Borg from then until it’s removed. Resistance to my dorkiness is futile!

A Lazy Bullet Point Update…

Since I last posted I’ve…

experienced a VERY painful infection at my drain spot
had my drain removed after a month! thank God!
lost the ability to straighten my left leg entirely
developed a bad habit of keeping my weight on my right leg with my left knee bent
worked to almost straighten my leg and reduce my limp
freaked out doing lymphedemia research and experiencing swelling in my leg
tried to find a suitable compression garment to aid swelling
been more mad at God than ever before in my life
cried and cried
enjoyed my family in ways I never knew before
started walking to get in shape after 4 weeks on dr ordered “leg rest”
gained back the weight I lost between surgeries *see above 6 weeks on couch
detoxed from 7 weeks of vicodin and percoset -that sucked, but I did it!
turned 30
been whisked away for a romantic weekend with my husband
had 2 new dishwashers installed
wished I could wake up from my nightmare
hated how this is affecting my kids
hidden from people who love me
read a life changing article from John Piper called “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”
been overwhelmed at the information i wanted to share here
watched WAY too much TV
found out my lymph nodes were free of cancer other than the original one they removed
wanted my healthy lymph nodes back
dreaded the year of treatment that feels like it’s never going to start
made an appointment for Dec 9 with the oncologist who will plan my treatment
hoped to start treatment the next Monday because I want it BEHIND ME!!!
realized I’ll probably miss Christmas because of this, but I just want it done
received a ton of love from family and friends in the form of phone calls and mail. thanks.

I’m sorry this is mainly negative. I’m trying to be real. It’s such an odd thing to most likely be “cancer free” yet be looking forward to a year of treatments that are going to make me sick. It feels so unfair, not just to me, but to Danny, my kids and my family. Danny and I counted last night and I’ve had 6 surgeries in the past 5 years. It’s been a lot.

I do not believe that this song was playing by accident as I wrote this… God is good!

Wait and See (selected lyrics)

by Brandon Heath

There is hope for me yet
Because God won’t forget
All the plans he’s made for me
I have to wait and see
He’s not finished with me yetStill wondering why I’m here
Still wrestling with my fear
But oh, He’s up to something
And the farther on I go
I’ve seen enough to know
That I’m, not here for nothing
He’s up to something

I’ll post something more positive tomorrow for Thanksgiving. I have much to be thankful for.

Lymph Node Dissection

Couple updates from today…

Although I wanted to run away and skip surgery today, the surgery went MUCH better than expected. NO med students involved today which was wonderful! I know they need to learn, but I am such an introvert, their presence is really disturbing to me. Sorry friends in med school!
I’m on percocet and feel better than I did yesterday on Vicodin! I am for sure a percocet girl!
My back stitches are out! I’m much less itchy and more comfortable, although that may be the percocet. 🙂
The drain isn’t as bad as I imagined. It is going to be hard to hide under my clothes. My left leg is going to have a noticable lump for the next few weeks!
My CT scan came back clean! Praise God!
Dr Warneke showed us the original pathology and the amount of melanoma in the lymph node was 0.2mm. TINY! Dr. Warneke said he expects the nodes he removed today to be clear which gives me a 50% chance of being cured. Excellent odds for melanoma. If I’m not cured, I’m in for a fight with melanoma that reappears. I’m still going to win this battle!

Thanks for all the prayers today. I had the BEST nurses and things went very well for a day that well… let’s just say surgery is losing it’s charm for this girl. I’m hopefully done for a LONG while!

Martha Bishop

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