My husband was sick over the Christmas (2017) holiday with a stomach bug. We didn't think that it was anything major except that after it was over, he never fully recovered. He suffered from dizziness, heart palpitations, shortness of breath and felt like he was going to pass out at random times.
In January (2018) he went to the hospital on two separate occasions. Both times the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with him. Even the family doctor couldn't find anything so he was referred to specialists.
After going through a lot of blood work and so many scans they diagnosed him, in February, with Stage 3 Melanoma (skin cancer). The dermatologist that examined him found no signs of Stage 1 or 2. From what I have been told, Stage 1 & 2 are on the skin and can be seen. Stage 3 is when the cancer goes inside the body. In this case, into his lymph system. Specifically he had a swollen lymph node on his neck that, when biopsied, showed the presence of pigmented skin cells.
After more blood work and more scans they changed his diagnosis to Stage 4. The cancer was not localized, it had spread throughout his body.
Because of the nature of his diagnosis, surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are not options for him. His current treatment options are immunotherapy. The principle idea is to raise his immune system so that it will fight off the cancer.
My husband has always been relatively healthy. Over the years he has struggled with fatigue but that is so common in our society that he just took it as a matter of course. Being a foodie, he battled with his weight and spent a good amount of time in the gym. We never had any idea that we would find ourselves in this situation. We saw no warning signs.
As for me, I've invested all my time in helping him. On his good days he gets up, dressed, cooks, and runs errands without any help from me. These are my favorite days. It's as if he isn't even sick. On his bad days he can hardly make it out of bed or eat anything. At one point he needed me to take him to his appointments in a wheelchair. Thankfully, he has had more good days than bad. Please join me in prayer that his good days continue and get better.
Thank you for your time in prayer,
Jessica and family
In January (2018) he went to the hospital on two separate occasions. Both times the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with him. Even the family doctor couldn't find anything so he was referred to specialists.
After going through a lot of blood work and so many scans they diagnosed him, in February, with Stage 3 Melanoma (skin cancer). The dermatologist that examined him found no signs of Stage 1 or 2. From what I have been told, Stage 1 & 2 are on the skin and can be seen. Stage 3 is when the cancer goes inside the body. In this case, into his lymph system. Specifically he had a swollen lymph node on his neck that, when biopsied, showed the presence of pigmented skin cells.
After more blood work and more scans they changed his diagnosis to Stage 4. The cancer was not localized, it had spread throughout his body.
Because of the nature of his diagnosis, surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are not options for him. His current treatment options are immunotherapy. The principle idea is to raise his immune system so that it will fight off the cancer.
My husband has always been relatively healthy. Over the years he has struggled with fatigue but that is so common in our society that he just took it as a matter of course. Being a foodie, he battled with his weight and spent a good amount of time in the gym. We never had any idea that we would find ourselves in this situation. We saw no warning signs.
As for me, I've invested all my time in helping him. On his good days he gets up, dressed, cooks, and runs errands without any help from me. These are my favorite days. It's as if he isn't even sick. On his bad days he can hardly make it out of bed or eat anything. At one point he needed me to take him to his appointments in a wheelchair. Thankfully, he has had more good days than bad. Please join me in prayer that his good days continue and get better.
Thank you for your time in prayer,
Jessica and family
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