Those Three Words....

".... You have cancer." No matter what is going on in your life, those three little words can rock your world. I was 38 and about to have my fifth fertility insemination when I was told I had melanoma. It was April 2008 and I had Stage IIIa, so the treatment options were limited. I had two surgeries, ended up in the hospital for five days with an infection, and then spent 11 months on interferon.

Making the difficult decision two years after my diagnosis, I did not further pursue a pregnancy because the rate of return for the disease was so high. Thankfully, about five or so years after I was diagnosed there were several drugs that were approved for treating melanoma. I still go to my support group and am grateful that newly diagnosed people have more options. Too many people are still dying of melanoma, but there is much more hope now.