Sally

My name is Sally. I’m 47 years ago. My journey began in, December of 2014 when I had a mole removed from my thigh which came back as melanoma. I had a wide excision and sentinel node biopsy which came back clear. I thought I was out of the woods but in September of 2019 they found a polyp on my cervix which also can back as melanoma. They did a pet scan which came back clear and an MRI two weeks later that showed three brain tumors. I was now, stage IV, here my second journey begins.

I had melanoma insitu on my thigh in 2015. I was IIA. They did the wide excision and removed one lymph node. The Dr. said I was all clear. They performed a test that showed a low probability of return.

I followed up with my dermatologist for skin checks and saw my surgical oncologist but no scans were recommended. In September of 2019 (4 ½ years later), I began bleeding and made an appointment with my gynecologist She removed a polyp but told me not to worry because they were always benign. Two weeks later I got a call that the polyp came back as melanoma. I met with my surgical oncologist and after discussing some of my symptoms and advising him that I had not been feeling well for a long time, she order a Pet Scan and an MRI of my brain. The Pet scan came back clear but the MRI came back showing three brain tumors.

I was immediately admitted to the hospital to begin steroids and Keppra as a preventative measure to avoids seizures. I was sent home after a few days. I then began radiation I had three 70 minute treatments. 3 days after my last radiation I had a craniotomy to remove the large tumor. The surgery lasted about 8 hours and I was sent home the next day. Three days later I had my first infusion of the yervoy/opdivo combo. I only tolerated one combo treatment and ended up in the hospital with a very bad rash. Over the next few weeks I was in and out of the hospital with fevers and flu like symptoms. I had several distant energy healing sessions which I believe contributed greatly to my healing. I theinually had difficulty accessing my veins for treatment. The night of the insertion I began to have signs and symptoms of an infection. I went to the ER a few days later and was admitted and finally after nine days, they found the infection in my blood and had to remove the port. I went for a second opinion at another hospital and we decided to stop treatment. The original plan was for two years but my body had enough and I decided to bow out gracefully. So far my scans have all been clear.

I was told by my oncologist that it would be exceedingly rare for my cutaneous melanoma to spread to my cervix and that he believed I had two different forms of melanoma One being cutaneous and one being mucosal.

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