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Skin Diaries

Couple Faced with the Hardest Decision of Their Lives

Staci’s journey started back in August 2018 when she had a large mole removed from her leg. It came back positive for Melanoma. By September, we’d learned that she had a particularly aggressive type of Melanoma and her diagnosis was Stage IIC. She had the tissue around her mole removed leaving her with a hole in her leg the size of a hockey puck. They also took a lymph node from her groin to see if the cancer had spread. It had.

More melanoma moved her diagnosis to Stage IIIC. In October—two months after her initial diagnosis—the rest of her lymph nodes in her groin were removed and tested for cancer. Three out of nine had cancer.

At this point in Staci’s cancer journey, she was 20 weeks pregnant with our son Boone (about halfway to a typical full-term delivery date). We had three options:

  1. Terminate the pregnancy and begin treatment immediately
  2. Wait to start the treatment when the baby was at 32-34 weeks
  3. Start a form of treatment that is safe for pregnancy, but not necessarily effective

As you can imagine, this was an incredible decision to make. We sought the opinion of a second doctor, who specialized in Melanoma at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. We ultimately decided to wait on any treatment and induce the delivery early.

Between October and February—an incredibly short four months—we focused on preparing to be new parents as best we could. The baby was healthy and growing, although there was still a chance the Melanoma could spread to the placenta. Then on February 1st, we welcomed our son into the world. Boone Anton quickly became Staci’s greatest joy. After two weeks in the NICU, the test results came back negative for Melanoma. Knowing he was safe was a HUGE relief! After recovering from delivering Boone, Staci had another PET/CT scan on February 5th to get an updated baseline of the cancer in her body. In the short time we had waited to deliver the baby, the cancer had spread to the bones in her back, lungs, liver and spleen. Her diagnosis was Stage IV, meaning no longer curable. She started an immunotherapy treatment and went in every three weeks for about three-four hours with the hope that the treatment would shrink the cancer spots. All the while marveling in our precious little boy like a new mom.

A week shy of Staci’s 30th birthday on April 26th—only six months after her initial diagnosis and just short of two months after Boone’s birth—she lost her battle with Melanoma.

Since then, Boone and I have received an overwhelming amount of love and support from all the people who loved Staci. It continues every day and we’re blessed to have this community in our lives.

Right now, we are focusing on making goals each day. Some things are getting easier, some are getting a lot tougher. But I have Boone to keep me going. Many people have made an impact on his life and future already with love, donations and support. I can’t thank you all enough. He’s one special little guy and I don’t know where I’d be without him. Boone is not only our son, but he’s also a reminder of her.

Words can’t explain how much I miss Staci. I’m beyond honored to say that she was my wife. I will always miss and love her, and she will forever be in my heart. Not only because she gave me the best years of my life but she also gave me—and all of us—Boone.

I thank everyone who has taken the time to reach out and see how life is going for Boone and I. With your help and support we can continue to share Staci’s story. Boone will know his mother through all of you. He’ll also grow knowing that his mother’s battle and story helps save lives every day. In Staci’s words…

“I’m telling my story because this is a part of my life and always will be. There will be good days and there will be bad days, but I’m always doing my best to stay positive. Please remember to wear sunscreen and get any suspicious moles or marks on your body checked as soon as you notice them, don’t wait!

To keep up with Dustin and Boone and to share your support, please visit Staci’s Story on Facebook. Words of love, support and encouragement are very much appreciated.

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