- T
- S
- B
Chris had a blue mark on her arm since childhood, always thought she had been stabbed with a pencil or something. In 2016 a bump formed under it so she decided to have it removed only to find out that it was a rare Blue Nevus Melanoma. This began her journey of being diagnosed with Stage 2B Melanoma.
Complete removal of the small tumor was next, but this involved a wide excision to ensure everything was removed. It looked like a shark took a bite out of her arm. She then began an aggressive monitoring program with UCSF to try and catch any metastasizes as soon as possible. UCSF warned that this could be an aggressive form of melanoma, catching it early was important.
Her last annual scan was in 2019 which was completely clear. Her October 2020 annual scan was denied by insurance due to the initial staging of her cancer. Insurance companies can really suck sometimes.
In November 2020 she developed abdominal pains. After an abdominal ultrasound she learned that the melanoma had metastasized to her liver. Due to the number of tumor masses, some quite large, it was deemed inoperable.
The gold standard treatment for melanoma is immunotherapy, which helps 50-60% of patients. So she began immunotherapy treatment in December, but as of March 2021 it was determined that the immunotherapy was not working and the tumors are continuing to grow. In fact, other tumors were found in bone and soft tissue.
With standard treatments failing and an extremely aggressive form of melanoma, clinical trials are seen as the only hope for stopping the cancer growth.
Through UCSF, Chris learned of several trials at UCLA Medical Center that have some hope. Insurance should cover the medical expenses that the clinical trial will not pay for. However, travel expenses for Chris and Ken to fly to LA are not covered and will add up very quickly.
There may be times where Chris and/or Ken will need to be away from their farm for extended periods. This will also drive up expenses for boarding animals and/or having a caretaker stay at their farm.
Funds raised will be used to cover these travel, farm and any other expenses incurred for these clinical trials. Any money raised that is not needed will be donated to melanoma research in Chris' name.
Complete removal of the small tumor was next, but this involved a wide excision to ensure everything was removed. It looked like a shark took a bite out of her arm. She then began an aggressive monitoring program with UCSF to try and catch any metastasizes as soon as possible. UCSF warned that this could be an aggressive form of melanoma, catching it early was important.
Her last annual scan was in 2019 which was completely clear. Her October 2020 annual scan was denied by insurance due to the initial staging of her cancer. Insurance companies can really suck sometimes.
In November 2020 she developed abdominal pains. After an abdominal ultrasound she learned that the melanoma had metastasized to her liver. Due to the number of tumor masses, some quite large, it was deemed inoperable.
The gold standard treatment for melanoma is immunotherapy, which helps 50-60% of patients. So she began immunotherapy treatment in December, but as of March 2021 it was determined that the immunotherapy was not working and the tumors are continuing to grow. In fact, other tumors were found in bone and soft tissue.
With standard treatments failing and an extremely aggressive form of melanoma, clinical trials are seen as the only hope for stopping the cancer growth.
Through UCSF, Chris learned of several trials at UCLA Medical Center that have some hope. Insurance should cover the medical expenses that the clinical trial will not pay for. However, travel expenses for Chris and Ken to fly to LA are not covered and will add up very quickly.
There may be times where Chris and/or Ken will need to be away from their farm for extended periods. This will also drive up expenses for boarding animals and/or having a caretaker stay at their farm.
Funds raised will be used to cover these travel, farm and any other expenses incurred for these clinical trials. Any money raised that is not needed will be donated to melanoma research in Chris' name.
Organizer and beneficiary
Ken Pauley
Beneficiary