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Adjusting to Life After a Skin Cancer Diagnosis

Part of me wasn’t surprised when the biopsy results came back positive. Of the three bumps I felt on my scalp and had checked, one was squamous cell carcinoma. When I got the diagnosis, I thought about all the things I loved to do outside in the sun. I loved to spend long weekends hiking in New York’s Hudson Valley. I went jogging and cycling multiple times a week, and I spent summers at the beach. My most memorable travels were always outdoor adventures, like hiking the Path of the Gods in Amalfi, Italy, the Grand Canyon, and the Torres del Paine in Patagonia. I even had an outdoor wedding!

I had always thought I was pretty good about applying sunblock (usually SPF 30) to protect my skin. What I realize now is that I have been completely ignoring my scalp. It makes me angry thinking about it. It all makes sense now. My hair has always been cut short—and it’s not particularly thick—which leaves my crown completely vulnerable to sun damage.

I’m not sure I consider myself to be a “Skin Cancer Warrior” per se, but I’ll admit to wanting to ‘attack’ this problem head-on.  The good news in my diagnosis was that my cancer was considered ‘In situ’, meaning we caught it early enough. Regardless, I didn’t want to waste any time so I quickly scheduled my MOHS surgery with Dr. Vinelli in Morristown, NJ for June 9th, 2020 one month after the biopsy results.

The first thing I remember about that day was my conversation with the doctor. He told me that I had great skin for my age (50 at the time), but my scalp looked like “the skin of a 75-year-old”.  Food for thought…

I sat and made small talk with the surgery staff as they clipped the hair off my crown. Then a large section of my scalp was shaved with a straight razor. I nervously joked about looking like a monk, and not leaving the house until my hair grew back. Then a sheath was draped over the sides of my head and face.

The surgery was done under local anesthetic, but I could hear snipping, scraping, and feel the dabbing of gauze and tugging of the skin while it was being sewn closed. I wondered what the site would look like when the surgery was done and thought about all the types of hats I would buy to cover the scar. The more tugging I felt, the tighter the skin on my head and face felt. It was a strange sensation…Was I inadvertently getting a facelift? 

Then it was over. I was prescribed pain killers and an antibiotic cream and was told to remove the bandage the next morning. Additionally, I couldn’t exercise for at least two weeks and needed to avoid all strenuous activity. Hmm. 

The next morning, my husband helped me remove the bandage and the look on his face said it all. We both had underestimated the amount of damage I had, and size of the incision needed to get it all.   

Over the following months and with 2020 being what it was, I continued working from home while I healed. I took Zoom meetings and would carefully position the camera to be sure my coworkers couldn’t see the scar.

Eventually, I let my head tilt just enough and my boss saw the scar (and ‘monk cut’) and asked me what happened. As it turned out, he also had MOHS surgery on the bridge of his nose. We compared notes and lamented, saying things like, “If we could only go back and do things differently”. 

We talked about how we were dealing with our diagnosis. He’d started staying out of the sun entirely while I was hiding under hats. He doesn’t go to the beach anymore and I’ve started sitting under umbrellas and wearing sun shirts. We each have different approaches to how we’re handling our brush with skin cancer. Both of us are fully aware that we’re even more susceptible to more damage.  I think the most important thing is that we have both changed our habits and are in a position to help others.

As ‘skin cancer warriors’ we can tell people what happened. Not to scare them—or gross them out. But we get to share our stories with one another, and with everyone around us because this experience is entirely preventable. If we can teach people to protect their scalp, shield their faces, wear sunblock and sun-protective clothing, fewer and fewer people will experience this cancer. For that I’m grateful.

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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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