2025 - YEAR 7 WINTER PMC RIDER & NEARING 12 YEARS SINCE MY MELANOMA DIAGNOSIS (12/31/2013)
Everyone has a why in life & this is MINE!
- MY WHY -
I’ll start here…
PMC IS MY HEART & SOUL
•I PMC for myself
•My brother
•My godmother
•My Aunty Beth
•Mandee, Donna, Hopie
•I'm memory of my orthopedic surgeon Dr. Mark Price
•All the MELANOMA WORRIERS
•& YOU - reading this
•For research
•For treatment
•A sense of community
•A safe place where I feel I belong
•For those no longer with us
•For those who are just starting this journey
•To give back
•To make a difference
•A cure, A Cure for Carter <3 CTL
•To share my story of self advocacy
- you know your body BEST! -
•& most importantly to to educate about sun safety and SUNSCREEN!
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE WEAR SUNSCREEN - THE SUN IS DANGEROUS.
The story of advocacy started 12 years ago. I replay that day over and over again. I am here today because I advocated for myself. I did not take “NO” for an answer. I was unsettled with a mole I had on my abdomen. The Dr. I was seeing told me it was “nothing and not to worry about it, I had a lot of them & nothing seemed abnormal”. That did not sit right with me. My body knew something was not right. I requested it be removed, the Dr. paused and advised me that if he removed the mole I would have a scar the size of a dime. I didn’t think twice and responded with “I don’t care I would rather that, than not know”. We moved forward with a shave biopsy at my request and sent it off to the lab for testing. The Dr. would be in touch with results in a week or two and to not worry. Off I went home thinking I was fine. FINE, 22 hours later New Years Eve 2013, it was in fact a cancerous mole - IT WAS Melanoma. I just thank my L U C K Y stars everyday I went with my gut feeling. I consider myself blessed. My diagnosis being Melanoma in-situ, stage zero. It means there are cancer cells are in the top layer of skin (the epidermis). The melanoma cells are all contained in the area in which they started to develop and have not grown into deeper layers of the skin. I am extremely fortunate to have listened to my “inner me” and advocated for myself to have it removed. My visit to Dana Farber was a third opinion, another set of eyes. A group of doctors that specialize in MY cancer.
I began seeing Dr. Jennifer Lin in the Melanoma Center who rested all my worries. She studied and continued to study every mole on my body with a tiny lighted magnifying glass every 6 months. After my initial visit Dr. Lin has found a handful more moles that warranted removal over the last few years. She removed them and she’s educated me l about my different patterns, there are multiple. I can now say that I’ve been under Dr. Lin’s care for the last 10 years and I am so grateful for her care, kindness and thorough check-ups! She puts my mind at ease and I rest assure that she knows what she is doing. Two years ago I added molescope, full body imaging (dermoscopy) that provides a high resolution, detailed view of the skin though magnification and specialized lighting. With the use of the molescope app I can access my past photos and share updated pictures of any changes or spots that worry me in between my visits with my doctor. Having these high quality images to share with Dr. Lin gives me a constant peace of mind.
On the 10th Anniversary of my Own Life Scare - I never thought I would be adding my only sibling to my WHY. October 2022 my brother Matthew began his fight against Stage 4 Metastatic Melanoma. Here we are again, another example of self advocacy. Checkout Matthew’s story here / visit his PMC Winter Cycle fundraising page.
Dana Farber Cancer Institute & all of their doctors are truly special humans. I was on my way to volunteer for the INAUGURAL PMC Unpaved event in Western MA. As I entered Lenox I received the call from my brother confirming his cancer diagnosis results stating the tumor was in fact Stage 4 Metastatic Melanoma. My heart sank, I went into to fight and flight mode - jumping into action immediately. I said we need to get you into Dana Farber. We ended our conversation with you call Dr. Lins office I’ll send her a message though gateway. With in hours he was registered and Dr. Lin called me personally - that she will get in touch with the New Patient Registration and he will be contacted shortly to schedule him with a Melanoma Oncologist. Seven hours Later - yes that's right 7 hours later that evening my brother and parents received an Audio Call from the Worcester Oncologist to go over the results and a plan. The Dr. from Worcester was cold with no emotions and told my brother there was not much he could do. Melanoma was resistant to radiation and chemotherapy and that it was unfortunately not curable. His only option was immunotherapy. My brother was quick to let the Dr. know he had an appointment on Monday at Dana Farber for a second opinion. The Worcester Oncologist said he was going to recommend that but there’s not much more they can do there then what he can do here in Worcester. This left my brother feeling Defeated but Hopeful to know he would be in the hands of Dana Farber in 3 Days. I said to both my brother and my parents, as horrible of a situation this is we are so lucky to have the resources right here IN BOSTON! Our backyard.. we live here.. people from all over the world travel here to see THESE Dr's that we are just a stone throw from. Dana Farber is the absolute best of the best. This news was nauseating and is really really scary. We all need to pause, take a deep breath.
Also this past year we as a family found out about a genetic mutation that majority of us seem to be seeing come back as having. More importantly we would have never known about this if it was not for the genetic study that was conducted on Matt's original biopsy. With those results of Matthew have the CDKN2A gene myself and my dad have now completed genetic testing & both carry the same gene mutation. Placing us at increased risk for melanoma & pancretic cancer. Having this knowledge gives us acces to advanced screenings.
Know your facts -
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States.
A average of two people die every hour from skin cancer in the U.S.
Having 5 or more sunburns doubles your risk.
The most common type of skin cancers are - basal cell cancer, melanoma, & squamous cell cancer.
I’ll say it again, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE - WEAR sunscreen
Schedule your skin checks -
& most importantly ADVOCATE for yourself, you know YOUR body best!!
On behalf of myself and my family - We are SO THANKFUL for the knowledge of the Doctors and staff at Dana Farber. Also a special thanks to PMC for giving me this platform to share my story, and for the life long friendships I have gained.
Everyday “WE ARE CLOSER BY THE MILE” - on bikes that go places or nowhere EVERY PENNY COUNTS
Join us this February & ride along side me, my best friend Averie, Matthew & my cousin Meaghan! TEAM TOWER ??
& if you've gotten this far.. THANK YOU!
