In all of the health advocacy work I’ve done since experiencing a heart attack in 2017, I felt a responsibility to speak publicly about the risks of high cholesterol and heart attack symptoms.  The reason for this was quite simple.  I considered myself very fortunate that I survived a life threatening situation, and this sense of gratitude propelled my desire to advocate for health issues.  I essentially wanted to pay it forward so others might benefit from the information I was providing to help them overcome adversity.

 

I recently experienced a different type of health threat that appeared in the summer after I noticed a strange mole on the right side of my chest.  It concerned me to the point that I had it examined by my family doctor, who then referred me to a dermatologist just to be safe.  My wife Lori and I weren’t thrilled that it took a couple of weeks for an available appointment to come up, but apparently that is the reality whenever you have to see a specialist in Ontario. 

 

During an appointment on August 23rd, the dermatologist was immediately concerned about the appearance of the mole and told me that he would have to remove a sample of it to send out for testing.  At the conclusion of the appointment, I was told that we would hear back from the office by mid September if there were any issues.  

 

As the passing days turned into weeks, Lori and I assumed that no news was good news because we still hadn't heard anything.  That was until I received a strange phone call while driving home from work on October 3rd.  The caller was phoning to let me know that I would be hearing from the Markham Stouffville hospital regarding an appointment that I had no previous knowledge of.  I assumed it was for a hip condition that had recently flared up and caused me considerable issues, but was told that the mole sample that was removed in August was confirmed to be cancerous and it was important that I attend the appointment at the hospital’s cancer clinic.

 

To say that this came as a shock wouldn’t be entirely true, because right from the onset my gut feeling was that the mole was cancerous.  What came as a surprise was the shocking manner in which I was told - over the phone and as I was driving.  A second surprise occurred when I called my family doctor the following morning to see if he had heard anything from the dermatologist's office and he assured me that everything was okay.  He was under the impression that the cancerous mole had been entirely removed and actually read me the specific portion of the doctor's report which clearly stated that.

 

It was at this point that you start to scratch your head in bewilderment.  We all have expectations that the medical system is going to operate at a high level, especially in regards to serious health situations.  But my experience proves that this is not always the case and that sometimes errors or omissions can occur.

 

The good news is that things turned around very quickly after we started dealing with the Markham Stouffville Melanoma Clinic.  During my first appointment on November 4th, the surgeon advised me that not only was the cancerous mole still in my chest, but that they would have to check the surrounding tissue and lymph nodes to ensure the cancer hadn't spread.

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I ended up having the surgery on November 14th which removed a tumor, cancerous tissue, and seven lymph nodes.  A follow-up post-operative appointment was scheduled for December 2nd, and it seemed to take forever to arrive because of the concern that the cancer might have spread.  During this appointment, I was expecting to see the surgeon, but was instead introduced to an oncologist who guided me and Lori into a consultation room.  

 

The oncologist was a caring and thorough doctor who provided me with a detailed diagnosis and medical plan that would offer me the best chance of survival.  He went on to explain how the staging for melanoma is defined by the size of the cancerous tumor and whether it has spread to surrounding tissue and/or a lymph node.  In my case, the surgery confirmed that the mole had grown to a length of 4.8mm, spread to surrounding tissue, and also to a lymph node in my chest.  

 

When he explained that all of these factors put me at stage 3C melanoma cancer, my initial reaction was to think the absolute worst.  But his calm and methodical approach helped me to keep my composure so I could better understand the challenges that lay ahead.  These included hours of imaging scans which are especially difficult to endure if you have even a touch of claustrophobia.  

 

I found out almost immediately during the first scan that I had issues because of the way that some of the images are taken.  There was a flat panel above me that would lower just over my nose and stay there for minutes at a time, and this caused me considerable mental anguish. But I was able to fight through the panic because I knew how important the images would be for my medical team and myself.  Following this experience, I also made sure to reach out to my family doctor for assistance and he prescribed a mild sedative which definitely helped during the next three scans which included PET/CT imaging, a head MRI, and a chest/abdomen/pelvis CT scan. 

 

I received the results of these scans on December 19th and they gave me the best Christmas present I’ve ever had in my life.  My oncologist confirmed that the surgery removed all the cancerous tissue along with a cancerous lymph node, and that the cancer didn’t spread to any other lymph nodes or organs.  But even though that was exactly what we were hoping for, I’m not entirely out of the woods yet because there is a high probability that the cancer would return without additional action being taken.

 

My best shot at avoiding this happening is a year-long immunotherapy treatment that requires intravenous injections every three weeks.  It is different from traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy because it uses the body’s own immune system to target and kill any cancer cells, and the success rates are high for melanoma cancer patients.  I had my first session on December 23rd and have seventeen more to go to complete a treatment plan that gives me the best odds of living five years or longer.

 

One of the main reasons for me deciding to commit to a blog is that things could have been much different, and I want to share the importance of investing in yourself.  It would have been easy for me to overlook the mole, or put off doing anything about it because it seemed like a small concern at first.  We all live very busy lives, and sometimes we tend to put our own health lower down on the list of important things to look after.

 

I also want to document my treatment journey over the next year to offer some insight into what I am experiencing in relation to side effects and mental challenges along the way.  I’ve completed internet searches looking for that type of information, and there doesn’t appear to be a lot out there offering that personal perspective. 

 

One crucial point that I’d like to stress is that the time component is critical when it comes to certain health situations.  Whether it’s a medical emergency such as a heart attack or a suspicious mole that suddenly appears out of nowhere, it is important to see a medical professional to ensure your best chance at survival.  Because failing to do so can result in worst case scenarios that are devastating and sometimes avoidable.

 

And finally, it’s important to remember that the medical system is not a perfect machine.  Although we experienced communication concerns at the beginning of this journey, the Markham Stouffville Cancer Clinic has proven to be exceptional in every way.  They are very patient focused and incredibly organized, and this helped to alleviate any additional stress we were going through resulting from a cancer diagnosis. 

 

It's also important to remember that you sometimes have to advocate for yourself to ensure you’re being well served.  Doing so could have enormous consequences not only for your health, but also for your survival.  Stay safe and well everyone!

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