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Tim - California - 6/21/10

I had a lesion on my scalp that I thought was a sabaceous cyst in January 2010.  It would bleed and was non-pigmented.  My dermatologist believed it was basal cell.  The biopsy came back as 2C melanoma and my world collapsed.

My surgery was the easiest part of my treatment - you can barely see a scar.  There was no lymph node involvement.  I sought advice from UC-San Francisco and Dr. O'day in LA.  Everyone advised me to have the interferon treatment, which consisted of IV infusion 5 days a week for a month.  It was a tough month with fatigue and nausea, but with my wife's support I made it.  It took about 3 weeks for my stamina to return and not to have side effects.

The next step in treatment was more interferon, but a lighter dose.  I did have some hand tremors from the month treatment (I'm a dentist), so it was decided not to rx the interferon.

I have now started another immunotherapy drug called Leukine which I inject sub-cutaneously for 14 days and off 14 days - each for one year.  The effects are very mild and only amounted  to mild headaches.  I have 11 months remaining of this treatment.

Supposedly, all this treatment will cut down my chances of reoccurance from 50% to 20%.  But no one can really quantify it.

I don't dwell on the prospects of my cancer returning.  I hope for the best -- that's all one can do.

Kate Mathews  - 5/24/09

My name is Kate Mathews. I am 20 years old. I am a senior in college and am an elementary education major. I found a suspicious mole on my lower right thigh, slightly above my knee. The spot was small, but caught my attention because it was half shaded in and half un-shaded. I scheduled a routine check up with my dermatologist and pointed out the mole. My doctor agreed that it did look funny and decided to do a biopsy. I received a phone call about a week later from my doctor. The biopsy had shown that the mole was cancer. I made an appointment to meet with the cancer specialist. She informed me that my cancer was an early stage two melanoma. Thankfully, it was caught early, and my doctor and I decided that surgery was the best treatment option. I had the surgery a few days later. I ended up with a 4-inch incision and 27 stitches. Thankfully, the post-surgery biopsy came back clear of cancer!

Since the diagnosis, I have taken many precautions to protect my skin from the sun. I wear sunscreen every day and hats during outside activities. I see my doctor every three months. I have had multiple biopsies since the initial cancer diagnosis, but fortunately, all have come back clear. I have become an advocate for proper sun protection!