The Skin Cancer Foundation Journal

MAY 2014

The 2012 edition of The Skin Cancer Foundation Journal features medically reviewed, reader-friendly articles such as tanning, the increasing incidence of skin cancer diagnoses among young women, & the prevalence of melanoma among white males over 50.

Issue link: https://skincancer.epubxp.com/i/319518

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53 Cautionary Tale T he Ohio couple made their struggle public to save others. Eric, an Air Force veteran and manager at an auto repair shop, had frequented tanning salons, often to start a base tan before going on a beach vacation. Unfortu- nately, both sunburns and tans result from DNA damage that can lead to skin cancer. "We were ignorant about the dangers of skin cancer," said Jill. "You hear about it, but we didn't truly get it. We used sunscreen so we didn't burn on vacation, but always after be- ing exposed a day or two." In October 2008, Eric got a wake- up call when an "ugly" mole on his right ankle (which had been biopsied in 2007 and incorrectly ruled benign) was diagnosed as melanoma. He had no history of melanoma in his family. The news got worse: Eric soon learned the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes, where melanoma cells could easily spread throughout his body. To prevent a recurrence after the tu- mor and lymph nodes were removed, Eric's medical oncologist recommend- ed four weeks of in-offi ce injections then 11 months of at-home injections of high-dose interferon (IFN) alpha-2b, a medicine that stimulates the immune system to f ght foreign invaders such as cancer cells. However, IFN alpha-2b works in a minority of melanoma pa- tients, and after eight months of treat- ment, Eric's oncologist could see it wasn't working. Eric's legs were covered in nearly 100 red, inf amed tumors. Jill was always by his side. She re- corded videos as her husband went through treatments (uploading them on YouTube) and started a blog called "Tan Today, Tumors Tomorrow" to share her thoughts and emotions. For the next year and a half, Eric worked his way through the gamut of melanoma drugs being tested in clinical trials. That fall, he learned that the cancer had spread to his brain. He needed emergency surgery to remove the tumor. "He was never right after that," said Jill. The couple had a brief glimmer of hope in January 2011, when Eric enrolled in a clinical trial combining (Top) In his last few weeks, Eric shared regular updates on his condition with his YouTube viewers. (Lower) Eric and his stepdaughters, Samantha and Madison. ric Sizemore's YouTube channel is not for the squeamish. From 2010 to 2011, Size- more and his wife Jill, both in their 40s, created a video diary of his battle with melanoma. Through nearly a dozen short videos, viewers enter his bedroom and hospital room, glimpsing Eric's tumor-covered legs and experiencing the ups and downs of his grueling treatments for this dangerous skin cancer, which had metastasized throughout his body. In one particularly graphic clip, Jill changes the bandages on a melon-sized tumor near his groin, the wound infected and bloody. The unmistakable message is that there is nothing pretty about this disease. Eric and Jill Photos provided by Jill Sizemore

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