Skin Diaries

Julie Smith: “I may have Stage IV Melanoma, but it doesn’t have me.”

I was first diagnosed with melanoma on April 11th, 2013. I had a mole on my right shoulder blade that itched and would bleed. My family physician removed the mole, then called to let me know it was melanoma. A surgeon removed the rest of it and I was labeled “cancer-free”. At the time, I was grateful that I didn’t need to remove any lymph nodes or get a CT scan, I simply needed to visit my dermatologist every six months. I felt relief and followed the doctor’s recommendation.  

Then, in December 2017, I was experiencing pain around my stomach and had a hard time breathing. I thought I had pulled a muscle in my back. I visited a chiropractor, but I was still in pain. In March 2018, I contacted my family physician who checked me out and requested a CT Scan. He was initially checking to see if I had a blood clot in my lung, but instead, the results showed a 15cm mass on my right adrenal gland. It was pushing up against my lungs and making it hard for me to breathe.

At this point, my husband and I paused, looked back to my experience in 2013 and completely reconsidered my cancer-free diagnosis. Five years later, after meeting additional oncologists and medical professionals, we knew more and questioned everything that had happened in 2013. Had we been given the opportunity to go back to 2013, we would have taken every additional precautionary test or scan to make sure that the cancer-free diagnosis was accurate. While we had enjoyed five years with a false sense of safety, my cancer had metastasized.

That April, an oncologist biopsied the growth to see what it was and what we’d need to do next. Before the biopsy even happened, I knew I had cancer.  My faith in God has always been very important to me and I’d had a vision where God told me what my diagnosis would be and that I was going to share my story. I could see myself sitting in a room getting chemotherapy while sharing stories with other patients. God was preparing me for my upcoming journey.

I visited my neighbor down the street who was a pastor and asked him to pray with me. He asked me, “If this is cancer, what is your prayer?” I told him that I wanted to pray for the strength and the ability to help others with my story, and vice versa. I wanted to be able to make sure all of us are never alone while we go through this.

On April 9th, my husband and I saw my Oncologist and he gave us the news. He told us that I had Stage IV Melanoma that had metastasized and landed on my right adrenal gland, but it was curable and treatable. Just over a week later, I had surgery to remove the mass. I was cut from the bottom of my sternum to just past my belly button. They didn’t get all the cancer out, so I started immunotherapy and Opdivo and Yervoy at the beginning of May. I ended up in the hospital from mid-July to the beginning of August because the side effects made me severely sick. But, a PET Scan on August 6th showed that the mass that started at 15cm had been reduced by almost 6cm! We were making progress. The side effects continued to the point where I ended up having a hysterectomy in September.

A PET Scan in November showed that the mass, which had reached 6.2cm had stopped shrinking. They put me on oral target medicines called Mekinist and Tafinlar that I take daily. I’m truly blessed to be able to take this as it only works on someone with the BRAF gene. If I didn’t have that gene, I would not be sharing my story right now. By February 2019 the mass had shrunk to 4.5cm and I was officially in “partial remission”. My scan in May 2019 showed a reduction to 2.2 cm. By August of this same year, I received news that it had reduced another 24%! 

Already this year, I have been stronger and doing a lot more. I had previously lost my job because of the cancer, but I’m happy to report that I was able to go back to work in July 2019. I am working part-time and getting stronger day by day.

I have been asked numerous times what keeps me going and how I keep a smile on my face. The answer to that question is this…

Faith. Family. Friends.

We are all put on this earth for a purpose. My story helped me do something dear to my heart… glorify God by helping others along their journey. Without the support of my family and friends and knowing that God is with me always, I don’t know where I would be right now. There have been times when I’ve been so depressed that I’ve told God he could take me anytime. I didn’t want to go through anymore. But He has bigger and brighter plans for me. He’s not done with me and I’m not done fighting.

Every day, I’m amazed at how far I have come. Today, I am working, able to get outside and enjoy some of the many wonderful things God has created and enjoying time with family and friends, which absolutely means the most to me.

I may have stage IV melanoma, but it doesn’t have me.

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