But Isn’t That A Cancer Doctor?

As I waited for the call from Dr. G on my lab results I must admit I had done a little Google research on melanoma.  What I saw was scary and there was no way I had this disease.  I would feel sick, it would look worse; I would have a family history…..  There was just no way I had cancer, let alone this especially deadly form of it.  This journey has been marked with a lot of moments I will never forget and I imagine most cancer patients can tell you when and where they were when they got the news.  I knew that there was something wrong as soon as I heard Dr. G on the phone.  His playful joking demeanor was gone and he had a sound of concern in his voice.  He gave me the news and my head just started spinning.  The mole had indeed tested positive for Melanoma and it was much thicker than he thought.  It was nearly 4 mm thick, ulcerated, and some other stuff that was all bad news.  He said he had taken the liberty of calling an oncologist for me and discussed my case with him.  He said I needed to call and make an appointment asap.  At this point I said to him “But isn’t that a cancer Dr” as if I still couldn’t process what was happening.  The next thing I did was phone my older sister and I gave her the news.  I was so upset and to be honest terrified.  I still didn’t know much about Melanoma but what I did know was that the results of my lab test indicated that there was a very high chance that cancer had already spread to my lymph nodes and possibly my body organs.  The average life expectancy for a melanoma patient once it spreads to your body organs is about 8 months and it is fatal nearly 100% of the time at that point.  I can still remember hearing my her voice on the other end of the phone as I was losing it.  She kept it together and her voice was so soothing and reassuring.  She told me it was ok to be scared and that it was going to be ok.  She was going to be there for me and we would just take it one Dr appointment at a time.  That is the moment that I will already remember from that day.  Family is everything.