Hi, my name is Stacy Russo Nichols. I am fundraising for my good friend, Misty Scallan, who was diagnosed with a rare cancer and can no longer work. Please consider helping her by making a financial donation to continue her journey in kicking Cancer! The funds will be used to help with travel, living and medical expenses . Your prayers and financial assistance is greatly appreciated!

Hi, my name is Misty Scallan. On 2/16/24 during a routine eye exam, a large tumor behind my left eye was found. I was then referred to a Retina Specialist on 2/19/24. From there I was referred to an Ocular Oncologist in Memphis, Tennessee on 2/26/24 where I was diagnosed with Ocular Melanoma behind my left eye. It was described as a large elevated pigmented choroidal lesion overlying the optic nerve with nasal subretinal fluid and overlying intraretinal hemorrhage of the left eye.

At that appointment Radiation Plaque Brachytherapy was scheduled for 3/19/24-3/26/24 with a pre-op appointment with the Radiation Oncologist

on 3/18/24 all at the same hospital in Memphis. On 3/18/24 I saw the Radiation Oncologist who highly advised me not to biopsy my tumor because it would “seed and spread like wildfire”. So I chose not to take the chance of doing a biopsy or any other genetic testing of the tumor to find out the class, risk level, mutations, etc. On 3/19/24 my Ocular Oncologist in Memphis performed surgery called Radiation Plaque Brachytherapy which was a plaque implanted behind my eye to target radiation to the tumor. The plaque stayed in for 7 days and was removed on 3/26/24. I came back home to Louisiana and saw my Retina Specialist who referred me to a Medical Oncologist as well. I will now have to do scans (MRI of abdomen and CT of Chest) every 3 months for 5 years to detect any spreading of the cancer. I will also have to see my Ocular Oncologist in Memphis every 3 months for 5 years. After 5 years my scans and trips to Memphis to see my Ocular Oncologist will change to every 6 months. I will have to do this for the rest of my life.

So far at my post op Retina Specialist appointments in Louisiana he has found bleeding/hemmoraging over the tumor. I am also blind in the left Ocular Melanoma eye due to radiation damage. I am also having a constant bright flickering light called electrical impulses in that eye that never go away even if closing or patching the eye and even in the dark. Due to the bleeding of my tumor and my vision loss with electrical impulses, I am very limited on physical activity. I can’t even shake my head or it will cause a new bleed. I am also very limited on trying to read without straining my right eye due to being blind in left eye and having flickering electrical impulses.

For those who may not know, Ocular Melanoma is a rare, aggressive, deadly eye cancer that only affects 5 in a million people. Ocular Melanoma has no cure. There is very minimal funding for Ocular Melanoma because it is so rare therefore there are very few “life extending” clinical trials/treatments once it metastasizes. This cancer never dies and could always come back in 5, 10, 20, or 30 years and spread to liver, lungs and other parts of the body. One Ocular Oncologist quoted “Once the horse leaves the stable there is nothing that can be done” .

Thanks and God Bless.