I recently moved out of my family home at 20 years old, in late January 2026 two months into living in my apartment, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Metastatic Melanoma.
It started with a mole on my left leg, but I didn’t even discover I had cancer until it already spread to a few lymph nodes in the left side of my groin. After two months of immunotherapy, I was scheduled for surgery on May 22nd, however a week before surgery after a few body scans needed before the procedure we discovered that my cancer has spread not only to more lymph nodes, but multiple spots on my liver, and a few spots on my lungs as well, making this Stage 4.
This has completely changed my treatment. Surgery has been canceled, immunotherapy has been stopped and other treatments are being discussed. I have a BRAF mutation which is causing my cells to rapidly divid and cause malignancy, there are BRAF targeted medications with very quick and strong positive results but with a 20% chance of long term effectiveness as most cancer learns to adapt and regrow. Because of this TIL therapy is also being discussed which would involve removing a portion of the tumor, and sending that to a lab where they extract my best cancer fighting cells and multiply them into billions of cells, to then infuse them back into the body, however 5 days of chemotherapy are needed to purposely deplete my white bloods cells so my body would have room for the new cells.
This has been absolutely devastating to hear, as this is a much longer, riskier and more painful process to have to go through with a lot more negative side effects. I have already missed a lot of work due to extreme fatigue, pain in my groin and worsening mental health, I am suffering not only physically but financially. This has made it even harder to keep up with bills and daily expenses while trying to focus on my health and recovery. I have currently applied for disability in hopes of getting financial help but the process for getting approved could take almost an entire year. So the funds from this fundraiser will go toward my medical costs and living expenses.
It has been extremely hard to get through this not just physically but emotionally. This diagnosis has flipped my life upside down, and having this much medical debt at such a young age has made it even harder to feel motivated to get through this and has felt extremely debilitating. I wouldn’t be able to get through this without the support of the people around me or others who have dealt with cancer either personally or through a loved one. I’m grateful for any help and support during this difficult time.
It started with a mole on my left leg, but I didn’t even discover I had cancer until it already spread to a few lymph nodes in the left side of my groin. After two months of immunotherapy, I was scheduled for surgery on May 22nd, however a week before surgery after a few body scans needed before the procedure we discovered that my cancer has spread not only to more lymph nodes, but multiple spots on my liver, and a few spots on my lungs as well, making this Stage 4.
This has completely changed my treatment. Surgery has been canceled, immunotherapy has been stopped and other treatments are being discussed. I have a BRAF mutation which is causing my cells to rapidly divid and cause malignancy, there are BRAF targeted medications with very quick and strong positive results but with a 20% chance of long term effectiveness as most cancer learns to adapt and regrow. Because of this TIL therapy is also being discussed which would involve removing a portion of the tumor, and sending that to a lab where they extract my best cancer fighting cells and multiply them into billions of cells, to then infuse them back into the body, however 5 days of chemotherapy are needed to purposely deplete my white bloods cells so my body would have room for the new cells.
This has been absolutely devastating to hear, as this is a much longer, riskier and more painful process to have to go through with a lot more negative side effects. I have already missed a lot of work due to extreme fatigue, pain in my groin and worsening mental health, I am suffering not only physically but financially. This has made it even harder to keep up with bills and daily expenses while trying to focus on my health and recovery. I have currently applied for disability in hopes of getting financial help but the process for getting approved could take almost an entire year. So the funds from this fundraiser will go toward my medical costs and living expenses.
It has been extremely hard to get through this not just physically but emotionally. This diagnosis has flipped my life upside down, and having this much medical debt at such a young age has made it even harder to feel motivated to get through this and has felt extremely debilitating. I wouldn’t be able to get through this without the support of the people around me or others who have dealt with cancer either personally or through a loved one. I’m grateful for any help and support during this difficult time.