Melanoma Patient Stories

In 2014, just after turning 67, I noticed a spot on my leg. When I went to see a dermatologist near where I live in Forked River, New Jersey, he diagnosed me with melanoma. I was really surprised. I’m dark-skinned—Italian—and melanoma is not common in dark-skinned people. I never used tanning beds or laid out a lot in the sun, but I guess it can happen to anyone.

I’m 64 years old and live in Yardley, Pennsylvania, which is just north of Philadelphia. I’m retired now, but I spent many years doing social justice work and fundraising for nonprofits. It was a busy life, which is why, when I developed a lesion on my left shin, I didn’t pay attention to it. Then, literally overnight in 2015, it got really bad. I wound up in the hospital, where they diagnosed me with stage IV melanoma—skin cancer.

Fox Chase saved my life, and they’ve given me many more years to live.

The level of teamwork and communication amongst the doctors was reassuring. Even though I felt overwhelmed by multiple surgeries, treatments, and diagnoses, I took immense comfort in the prompt actions taken my team of physicians.

I grew up in beautiful, sun-soaked Bermuda, and while I loved island life, it meant my skin was exposed to a lot of UV radiation at a time when we didn’t know how important it was to protect our skin. In my 20s I was more careful, but it wasn’t enough. In the summer of 2017, at age 58, I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma.