My Life's Journey with Melanoma

Well, I have been a slacker and have not updated the blog in a few months.  For that I apologize.  Thanks to all of you who care enough to follow my story as I fight this battle in my life! During the summer, I began to have trouble sleeping at night.  Nicole told me I was waking up all the time, similar to someone who has sleep apnia.  I was tired all the time and it was really starting to interfere with every day activities.  Also, during my initial scans for the new diagnosis of melanoma, we knew that I had a deviated septum.  We knew at some point I would need surgery to clear that up.  We spoke to the doctor about the issue he advised that we should have surgery between treatments.  After the last infusion, we went to see Dr. Seth Riddle and decided that most of my breathing problems could be solved with surgery to correct my deviated septum. The surgery was on October 19th.  I went into surgery and remember getting my favorite drug,...

I had a great opportunity to umpire the BYU Alumni baseball game Friday at BYU.  I have not worked a game in a while and have not used three man mechanics in a while either.  It was a very great night and the view is awesome!  They decided to play 14 innings straight so we used two crews.  The first crew worked the first 7 innings and my crew worked the second 7 innings.  I worked behind the plate which I find awesome to begin with and a lot of fun. I have worried, since my surgery, that umpiring behind the plate would be difficult.  My face is still numb on the right side and my right ear is really tender.  I worry that taking my mask on and off would irritate that side of my face.  I also worry that if I get hit with a ball on the mask that it would cause unbearable pain.  I learned that neither was true!  I am glad that I took the time to let my face heal as much as possible but I am also glad to get out and umpire and run around a ...

I received an interesting email from a friend this week.  It said he had heard I had relapsed and he wanted to get together and go to lunch.  I was really appreciative of the invitation but started to wonder why he thought I had relapsed.  I spoke with this friend who told me that he heard through someone else that I was "terminal" and that I only had a few months to live.  He also told me that this message had been received by many in an announcement made at a meeting.  I was a little shocked!  First that someone heard I was dying and second that I mattered enough to have it announced!  I assured my friend that I was doing just fine and that I was not "dying".  I told him that I had no new re-occurrence of melanoma and that my treatments were going just fine.  This made me start to think about life in general and how we communicate! In regards to communication, I learned how this information was obtained.  It was taken out of con...

Well, I had better catch everyone up.  With my last scans and doctor visit, in July 2010, I was told by the doctor that everything was clear and that we would be back in 3 months.  10 days later, I received a phone call from Dr. Grossman's office that there was some concern with my neck CT scan.  The doctor said there were some lymph nodes in my neck that had enlarged (this is not a good sign).  The doctor said they wanted me to get another PET/CT scan to see if the lymph nodes were reactive.  I went to my appointment at Huntsman.  The test consists of getting an IV line, injecting the radioactive tracer, waiting for about 45 minutes, and then getting scanned.  After getting the tracer, I waited.  After about an hour and a half, the nurse came in and said that there was a problem with the "camera" that she would be back in a few minutes.  30 minutes later, the nurse came back and walked me down a hall and into the basement.  I knew somet...

A lot has gone on the last couple of weeks! I left off with Dr. Grossman telling me the scans were clear.  About a week later, Karen (the nurse from Dr. Grossman's office) called and left me a voice message.  Karen's message said that she needed me to call her but that it was "no big deal!"  I started laughing after hearing the message.  Everything that comes from Huntsman is A BIG DEAL!  I called Karen who told me that Dr. Grossman was looking at the CT scan of my neck and it showed some questions about some lymph nodes in the my neck.  Karen said Dr. Grossman said that if I was not on the study, he would just watch the lymph nodes but because of the study, I needed to get a PET CT scan to see if the lymph nodes were "reactive".  Karen told me that the PET CT scan will be scheduled and I would be given the time.  I told Karen that this week was bad because our dispatch center is going live to a new 911 phone system.  I had  train...

This past week was the first scans since the clinical trial and treatment began.  These scans are important because they would tell Nicole and I if I was still cancer free.  Nicole and I left to go up to Huntsman.  To say the least, I was nervous.  I feel pretty good and feel like I am doing well but the scans would be key to letting us know that I indeed was still cancer free.  On the way to Huntsman I met a real nice Salt Lake PD motor officer, Officer Whitaker.  Apparently the speed limit on the off ramp to Foothill Drive reduces to 45 mph and then reduces again to 40 mph.  Apparently I was not paying real close attention, my mind must have been on something else, and I was not paying attention to how fast I was going.  I will be paying some money to be used by Salt Lake City. I still made it to Huntsman.  I could not eat or drink anything prior to scans except for the wonderful contrast that I have to take two hours prior to the scans...

Ok, so maybe I've been in a little denial.  This happened with my last bout but it took a little longer to happen.  Here is what I mean.  I was diagnosised, I had surgery, I had test and everything said the cancer was gone.  I then began treatment to "prevent" the cancer from returning or to catch it as soon as possible when it did return.  But, in my mind, it was hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that I was "sick" or "fighting my disease" because, in my mind, I was cancer "free".  That all changed after this last infusion. I went up for my fourth infusion and last of the first quarter.  I have been getting infusions every three weeks for the last three months.  After this infusion, I will get infusions once every three months.  Nicole and I went up early to get the labs done so that they would not hold us up for the treatment (we have learned that labs ALWAYS hold us up in starting infusion.)  For the first time, the nurse w...

So last week was my third infusion.  I was scheduled to have the treatment on Wednesday.  About two week ago, however, I realized I had paid to play in a golf tournament with my brother, Justin, on Wednesday.  I called and was able to move the treatment to Friday.  Ya, I know, my health is more important than anything else but how was I suppose to miss golf?   A side note, Justin and I played in the tournament at Talon's Cove and finished tied for fourth! Friday, Nicole and I went to the treatment at HCI.  Because I moved the scheduled treatment, my doctor's appointment was scheduled at 10 am but my infusion time was not until 3 pm.  Yes, another long day at HCI!  Nicole and I planned on being there a little early so we could get the labs drawn in plenty of time so the results would be available when we saw Dr. Grossman.  The labs always seem to be what holds us up before the infusion can begin.  I went into the lab and the n...

So right after I had surgery to remove the lymph nodes, my shoulder started hurting.  Initially, I had a lot of pain that ran down the back of my head, through my neck, and into my shoulder.  I thought it was a nerve that was aggravated from the surgery.  Problem - it never stopped hurting!!!  I then have been working hard on the remodel of my house which probably hasn't helped the pain in my shoulder. I went to sleep the other night and my shoulder hurt so bad that it kept me awake.  I could not get comfortable.  The pain was incredible!  I woke up in the morning and told Nicole what was happening.  Later that day, she had an appointment for me at the doctor.  I met with Dr. Mortenson who talked to me and decided that we should inject my shoulder.  Dr. Mortenson injected it and it felt almost immediately better!  Well, so I thought.  A few hours later, though the sharp pain had gone away, my shoulder felt like someone had at...

On Wednesday I went to Huntsman for my second infusion.   Nicole and I took my two oldest daughters, Mariah and Ally, with us because they had not been to the hospital.  We went a little early so we could have lunch.  My brother's wife, Staci, ended up having her little baby girl Wednesday morning so we also fit in a trip to the hospital to see both of them as well. We decided, do to the time, to eat at the hospital.  There is a small bistro upstairs at Huntsman but there is also a full restaurant as well.  It was nice to have some choices as to what to eat and the view from the restraurant is incredible!  You can see the whole city and valley.  Wednesday was really stormy as well so you could watch the dark clouds roll across the valley as well. We checked in and went to the lab.  They drew the blood samples and started the IV.  This time they had no problems starting the IV until they went to flush it the final time.  The nurs...

So,  Nicole and I are in the middle of remodeling the house.  I go to work all day and come home and do work on the house to get ahead of the remodelers.  All weekend it is nothing but working on the house.  We are getting down to the end but we are also getting to the hardest part of the job.  The girls were gone all week and that made it nice with the house being torn apart.  Now that they are back, we have no rooms done for them.  We are all staying in our bedroom downstairs.  We put one bed in the room for the girls.  Problem is, that is the next room to get done.  We won't get carpet, most likely, until next week, so we are trying to figure out what to do.  My sister, Kim, offered her trailer and my brother, Justin, would most likely let us come stay at his house for a couple of days.  What to do!  What to do! Lately, probably from not stopping, I have gotten tired real easy.  I am used to pushing myself a...

So what a day yesterday!!!  The infusion was suppose to start at 8 am.  We were told to get there early so Nicole and I arrived at 7:30 pm.  We were sent to the lab to get blood drawn and an IV put in for the infusion.  The lab tech tried twice to start an IV in my left arm.  I asked for the left arm because last time I got an IV in my right arm in really hurt when it was left in all day.  The lab tech, Julie, asked the Charge Nurse, Stephanie, to start the IV.  Stephanie was able to start the IV in my right hand.  Luckily, it did not hurt and was fine all day. Nicole and I went back to the Clinic to meet with the doctor to get the final "GO AHEAD" for the infusion.  We were told that Dr. Grossman was suppose to be in a meeting so we would be seen by his Nurse Practioner, Julie, and then Dr. Grossman would see me right before the infusion would start.  It took some time for Julie to make it to our room.  When she came in, she bega...

I received a phone call today from Chris who is in charge of the clinical trial.  It was a very funny phone call.  Chris was all excited.  Chris said, "I have some really good news for you today.  The pathologist report came back and it was confirmed the melanoma was in the lymph node, so its stage 3 and you qualify for the clinical trial."  I said, "That's good news....for you!"  Chris stopped for a minute and studdered.  Chris said, "I didn't mean it that way."  I laughed and told him that I was just giving him a hard time.  We both laughed!!! Chris told me that there was a mistake made when they drew blood and they did not get all the blood for tests that they needed.  Chris told me that I was suppose to get the blood draws done on Friday when I was there for my CT scan.  Chris told me for some reason it was not done.  Chris said in order for me to start the trial on Wednesday, I needed to get those blood draws d...

So on Friday I will go back to Huntsman and have another MRI scan in preparation for the clinical trial.  The clinical trial will start, if everything gets approved, on the following Wednesday.  It will be nice to start treatment, even if it is the placebo.  My face is healing pretty well.  I went back to the doctor because I had two lumps in my cheek.  The one lump was full of fluid and the other was full of blood.  They are going to test the blood just to make sure.

In 2003, I found a mole just above my hairline above my right eye.  It was removed and found to be melanoma.  I went to a surgical oncologist, Dr. Dirk Noyes, and had skin and tissue removed from the site as well as a sentinel node biopsy.  Three lymph nodes were removed.  Two from below my right ear and one near my right clavicle.  The test from those returned clear of cancer.  It was determined at that time that I would not have any additional treatment and would simply be monitored and observed.  I found a dermatologist, Dr. Ray Peterson, who I would see on a regular basis.  In those visits, my skin would be checked for any "suspicious" moles.  In 2007, during my check-up, my wife asked Dr. Peterson to removed a "spot" from my nose.  Though Dr. Peterson thought it was nothing, it was found to be squamous cell carcinoma.  A "Mohs" procedure was done and no other treatment. In January 2010, I found a small lump under my right e...