My name is Rachel D. In
March 2008, I was diagnosed with Melanoma,
the deadliest form of skin cancer. I am
only 11. This is my story.
I live in a beach community in
Narragansett, Rhode Island. I have always
grown up on the water. My parents have
a boat and all summer we water ski, kneeboard
and tube. We also have a pool where I swim
all day, even at night too. I always wear sunscreen
30+ because I have light skin and red hair, putting
me at risk for skin cancer. I was always told
that the sun could cause skin cancer because
of harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. But,
until now, I never truly understood exactly what
that meant.
I remember my Mom always checking
my skin for freckles or spots called moles. My
Mom has blonde hair, blue eyes and very light
skin. She has been having spots removed
from her body for a long time, all due to the
sun. So I guess that's why she always checks
me even though it is very annoying.
My mom noticed this spot on my
back that she said seemed to be "changing". She
told my Dad when I went to the doctors to have
them measure it. The doctor said it appeared
to be fine but gave us the name of a Pediatric
Dermatologist. A Dermatologist is a doctor
of the skin. An appointment was made and
off we went.
I have to tell you, I was very
nervous going to the Dermatologist. I
didn't want someone to check my skin from head
to toe the way my Mother does. It was kind
of embarrassing. The doctor began at my
scalp. Did you know you could get skin
cancer up there too? She looked at my face,
neck, ears, body, arms, legs even fingers and
toes. When she checked my spot on my back,
she said, "my gut feeling says it's fine,
I am 99.9% sure it is nothing to worry about." "We
can monitor it." But, my Mom wanted
it gone and I am glad she did. Although,
at the time, I was not happy with her.
They brought in a tray of all sorts
of things including needles, which I hate the
most! The needles were used to numb the
skin so they could cut out the spot and stitch
the skin back together. Once they give
you the needle, you really don't feel a thing. They
send the skin to another doctor who looks at
the tissue under a microscope. They are
looking for typical (normal) cells, atypical
(changing cells) or cancer.
My Dad got the phone call on a
Wednesday night a week and a half later. The
doctor said I was diagnosed with Melanoma In-situ,
which means the cancer was on the epidermis,
the upper layer of my skin. She also said
I had to go in for surgery to remove more tissue
to make sure they got all the cancer.
My surgery was scheduled for Good
Friday at 8:30 in the morning. The surgery
was done by a Plastic Surgeon because of the
large cuts and amount of tissue they have to
take. These doctors are trained in making
the best scars. Although, my Mom, Dad and
I told him we didn't care about how big or large
the scar was because all we cared about was that
the cancer was gone.
This surgery was different because
now I had five needles poking me in the back
to numb the area. And it took longer. But,
it wasn't too bad. My Mom and Dad told
me they cut a lot and deep. They also said
there were so many stitches they couldn't count
and that they would eventually dissolve. They
sent this tissue back to Boston where they could
biopsy it. A few days later, we got the
phone call again. This time the tissue
was cancer free!
Now I'm just waiting for the stitches
to dissolve. I also have to go to the doctors
every three months, but that is OK compared to
how it could have been. If my Melanoma
was not caught in time it could have spread to
the rest of my body. I might have had to
get chemotherapy or radiation; instead I am cancer
free. My Mom pretty much saved my life! My
new saying is, "Make a positive out of a
negative by teaching others." |
