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This is Brave

This is Brave: Describing Your Entire Life with One Word
By: Cassie Beisel

I have been through many iterations of my personal definition of the word change – my favorite – acknowledging and accepting the past and what you’ve been through, but knowing, deep down, that it is the only way to move forward. The word “change” has defined my life since 2011 and at first, change meant inconvenience, fear, inconsistence, anxiety and loosing who I was and wanted to be to cancer.

To quickly catch you up, in 2011, my life changed. I was diagnosed with advanced melanoma. I didn’t find my cancer by noticing a changing mole, the only sign was a palpable lymph node in my armpit. Later, I would find out that, of my 30-something lymph nodes removed, three tested positive for melanoma.

Since my diagnosis, I have had the above mentioned full lymph node dissection, completed a very long and grueling year of Interferon, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, had a life-saving bone marrow transplant. On top of that, I had squamous cell carcinoma “where the sun doesn’t shine” resulting in three separate Moh’s surgeries.

My work as Advocacy Officer with the Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF) has given me a new definition of the word change. Now change means to overcome, to advocate, to make better, to rally and to stand up for others. It means working every day to try to leave this world a little bit better than I found it. As the list of cancers and survivorship issues continue to grow, so do I and so does the meaning of change.

The ability to change is in all of us and not only in the traditional sense. I know change can be hard, inconveniencing and many times unwelcoming, but even the smallest amount of “change” can make a world of difference in the lives around us.

I ask you to embrace change, whether it’s smiling at someone who seems to be having a bad day, giving yourself permission to feel upset at what life dealt you or sharing your experience, journey, story—whatever you want to label it—to give a piece of hope to someone who needs it. Change can and will happen with every gesture we make, no matter how big or small.

To see Cassie’s story from last year’s campaign, visit HERE.

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Skin Diaries This is Brave

This is Brave: Cassie Beisel

For me, change happened on January 24th, 2011. I will never forget those words, “You have cancer.” “How is this even possible?” I thought to myself.  As an avid outdoor enthusiast and rock climber, I was in the best shape of my life. How could I have cancer? As I would come to find out, the answer to that question was easy. As an outdoor enthusiast and someone with misinformation about base tans, I often spent many spring seasons prepping my skin in a tanning bed as a preventative measure to burning.

With the presentation of a swollen lymph node in my right arm and no primary mole, it took my doctors a month to realize that this was stage 3B melanoma and not breast cancer. I was 32 and had no clue what melanoma was but based on the doctor’s reactions, I knew that treating this was something of urgency.

Not knowing what to ask my doctors and perhaps feeling a bit naive for not know what melanoma was, I immediately took to the web, where I came across the Melanoma Research Foundation’s (MRF) website. It was here where I found an abundance of educational resources about melanoma helping me to better understand my diagnosis and treatment options. I underwent a full lymph node dissection, finding melanoma in three out of 36 lymph nodes and completed a year of interferon.

The MRF played such an important role in my journey from diagnosis to recovery. Six months after my treatment ended, I dedicated my time to fundraising for them as a volunteer. I would ride 100 miles to raise funds to help other young adults like me; hoping to make their journey a little easier through funding life-saving research.

It was three days after my ride that I would land in the hospital with acute leukemia. After a bone marrow transplant and two years of recovery, it was time for me to return to the workforce. As a young adult with two cancers and four year’s out of the workforce, I knew that returning to my everyday life in the hospitality business would be challenging for me. I just couldn’t go back to where I’d come from. My melanoma diagnosis had changed everything for me.

In 2014, I joined the Melanoma Research Foundation. Currently, I lead the organization’s advocacy efforts to mobilize advances in policy and federal funding. I also represent and engage the interest of the melanoma community and focus on partnering with industries seeking to amplify our voice.

My journey with skin cancer hasn’t ended, recently I had my Moh’s surgery to remove my third squamous cell carcinoma (the second most common form of skin cancer). I still live with the fear of a melanoma recurrence daily.

Melanoma is not “just skin cancer,” no skin cancer is “just skin cancer.” It is a big deal and it impacts the lives of millions across the globe and contributes to over tens of thousands of deaths each year. I am honored to have survived and been able to devote my career to helping those who have been impacted by this disease.

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