I went to see my family doctor on July 7, 2014 for a check-up. As I suspected, everything was normal. Perfect! As the doctor was leaving the room, I just so happened to look down at that mole I noticed a month ago. I stopped the doctor and asked him what he thought about it. Like I assumed, Doctor said it looked completely fine and nothing to worry about. He asked if I noticed anything different with it. Which I hadn't really noticed anything different, just that it went from being flat to slightly raised. Doctor said well I wouldn't remove it, but you're here so let's just do it.
I've had moles removed before, so I knew what to expect -lidocaine, skin punch, stitch, band-aid, done- Doctor said that it would come back negative and not to worry. He also told me that with Obamacare the new policy is that you have to come into the office for your results. His exact words were "when you get a call from us saying we need you to make an appointment to discuss your results don't freak out." I left and went on about my day.
That weekend, I was visiting my dad and step-mom. I proceeded to tell her about my mole removal. I complained how I didn't want to pay the stupid co-pay to receive my results that will be negative and have a nurse remove my stitches when I am a nurse myself and can do it. My step-mom told me to go ahead and take my own stitches out and when they call to say I need an appointment tell them "I took my stitches out myself and I work all week" maybe then they would spare me my money and just tell me over the phone my results. So that was my plan! I went home and removed my stitches.
Monday, July 14. I was trying to rest to prepare for my first night shift rotation. While I was napping the office had called and left me a message saying exactly what the doctor told me they would say, "LeeAnn we have your results back. We need to set up an appointment with you to discuss them." I forgot to give them a call back once I woke up. I went to work at 7 p.m. that night and came home on Tuesday the 15th at 7:30 a.m. I woke up around 3 p.m. that day. It was a beautiful sunny day! Doug was at work, so I decided to go pick our one year old daughter, Emma, up from daycare and go to the park before I had to go back to work that night. 4:35 p.m. I have Emma in my car, and we are almost to the park when I receive a phone call from the doctor's office....
Me: Hello?
Nurse: Hi, is this LeeAnn Yochum?
Me: Yes?
Nurse: We have your test results back & need to schedule an appointment to discuss your results with you. When are you available?
Me: I just started night shift this week at the hospital. This week won't be good for me. I already removed my own stitches on Sunday. Can you just please tell me the results over the phone?
Nurse: No sorry we need you to come in for your results.
Me: Okay then it will have to be sometime next week because I am pretty busy all this week.
Nurse: We need you to come in as soon as possible.
Me: But why?
Nurse: The biopsy that was taken showed cancer cells.
- My heart stops & I go silent-
Nurse: LeeAnn, are you still there?
Me: Yes.. You took me by surprise.
Nurse: I'm sorry, but I need to set up an appointment with you.
Me: How late is he open today? Can I come now?
Nurse: Yes. Absolutely.
I immediately begin sobbing. First person that comes to my mind is Doug. My fingers can't dial fast enough, but I finally get him on the phone and tell him what's going on. I tell him to meet me at the doctor's office now. He tells me to calm down and that he's sure everything is okay. I hang up the phone and call my dad. Still crying, I tell him what's going on and that I need him to meet me now at the doctor's office to watch Emma while Doug and I go speak with the doctor. He tells me he is on his way. Next up, my mom. I called and told her what was going on, and that I would call her back as soon as I got out of the office.
I pull into the doctor's office and wait for Doug and my dad to arrive. As I sit there still crying, Emma starts saying "mom" from the backseat and smiling. Any other time that would have made me stop crying and smile, but this time- it made me cry harder. I thought to myself -I can't have cancer. I have this amazing girl to raise and watch grow up.- Doug pulls up and so does my dad. I then again have to repeat to both of them what is going on. Dad said he's not wanting outside with Emma, but instead coming inside to hear the results and he has questions himself.
We walk inside, the look on the ladies at the front desk faces was horrible. They handed me my chart and told me to proceed to the next room and someone would take me back to a room. I just knew the news I was about to receive wasn't going to be good. I sit down in the room and the doctor comes in. He tells me my biopsy showed malignant melanoma, superficial spreading type. He tells me that I caught it early. He tells me that he will be referring me to a specialist to talk about treatment options. More was discussed & questions were asked. As we were standing up to leave, the doctor tells me "Whatever made you question that mole saved your life." The doctor told me by the end of tomorrow they would have an appointment scheduled with a specialist.
We walk out in disbelief. Like any parent, he hugs me and tells me everything is going to be okay. I informed my mom, she told me she was coming to town that evening to spend time with me. Doug hugs me and says we will get through this. My brother (which you have to know him to understand) is freaking out. I call him and tell him what's going on. He asks me to meet him at church to pray. I agree to meet him. As I go inside the church, he takes Emma for me, so I can pray.
I started off by saying..
Thank you for this beautiful day. Thank you for my family and especially thank you for Emma.
But why me? Why do I have to be diagnosed with melanoma?
Why me? I am 22 years old. I haven't tanned in over 2 years.
Why me? I just started my career as a nurse. I'm getting married in October.
Why me? My life is just beginning.
Why me? I have a one year old daughter to raise & watch grow up.
Then I stopped questioning God's decision.
I started to look at it as a test.
God is testing my faith in Him.
At least that's how I see it.
I continue praying.
I discuss with my brother the results again and what the next step is in this process. We talk back and forth outside church. I load Emma up and head home to meet Doug. Brant heads back to work. I get home and Doug meets me outside to get Emma from the car. As we get inside, I begin to cry again and lean to Doug for support. We begin to tell our immediate family only. The day continues on and feels like the longest day possible. Midnight comes. Doug and Emma are fast asleep. I am up researching information. Google searching everything about my pathology report. I kept seeing a lot of people and a lot of logos saying "It's not just skin cancer." I didn't think much about it then.
Next morning, I receive a phone call from the dermatologist office saying they are able to see me today at 2:00 p.m. The secretary told me that we would talk about treatment plans today. I hang up the phone. At 22 years old I didn't think I would be meeting with a specialist to talk about "treatment plans." I call my family and tell them the plan. I go to the office with Doug at 1:45 p.m. to start filling out paperwork. On one of the papers it asked about skin cancer. I don't know how to describe what I felt when I had to check the box and put melanoma on the type line.
The nurse calls me back to the room. Dr Morris comes in the room and introduces herself to us. We talk about my pathology report and how she will be removing a section of skin from my thigh. She answers all my questions. When mapping out the section she would be removing from my skin, she said the area was too large to remove in her office. She wouldn't be able to give me enough lidocaine to keep me comfortable that she was allowed to give in office. Dr Morris tells me that she would set up and appointment with the general surgeon, Dr. Neumann. Doug is asked to step outside, so Dr. Morris can examine all my moles. Sadly, she found two more moles that she labeled "suspicious" I asked if Doug could come back while they removed the other two moles. Before she got Doug, she handed me two pamphlets. She discussed what an abnormal mole would look like. I gave the images a raised eyebrow. Dr. Morris asked if everything was okay. I said yeah but the mole that was just removed had absolutely none of these signs. Her eyes got big and said she was surprised.
Now I know why people were saying, "It's not just skin cancer." Dr. Morris began her list..
I'll see you every 3 months for a year. Then every 6 months for a year. Then once a year.
Avoid sunlight from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Wear a hat when outside to protect your face.
Wear protective clothing.
Use sunscreen that protects of UVA and UVB rays.
Apply sunscreen 20 minutes before going outside and reapply every 2 hours when outside.
Use at least SPF 25 at all times. When staying outside for a longer period use at least SPF 50.
Just because it is cloudy outside, still apply.
Wear sunscreen all year round.
Make sure your make-up has SPF in it.
You need to inform the following doctors:
Eye doctor -rare but melanoma can develop in the eyes
Dentist -spots can be found in your mouth
Beautician -they will see your scalp the most & be able to see new moles
Gynecologist -so they can check out moles in that area
I need to check my moles once a month.
Avoid drying your nails with the UV lights at nail salons.
Avoid drying your nails with the UV lights at nail salons.
She goes and gets Doug, I tell him that two more moles are being removed. Once the biopsies are taken, she tells me that we will know the results in 10-14 days. She tells me that she will call me with the results herself because she knows I'll be on the edge of my seat until then. My appointment is scheduled with Dr Neumann on July 25th at 8:25 a.m.
Good news is that as long as the other two biopsies come back negative & nothing is found in the skin that they will be removing on my thigh, I will be cancer free!! I pray 24/7 that those biopsies come back negative!!
I am so thankful for my family for being here for me through all this craziness!
I will continue to post my journey with melanoma on this blog.
