Hilary’s Jouney

Hilary, a flight attendant for United Airlines, was in Chicago’s  O’Hare  airport  at  Gate C-31  when  she received  a call  from  her  husband  Jimmy  a  United Captain with a message from her dermatologist.  The message was urgent asking her to call her doctor.  She had  gone to an appointment  a few weeks earlier to have a mole on her calf examined and biopsied.  She called  and left a message with the answering service.  Within minutes the doctor called her back. The results, Stage 2 melanoma and she would need to come back in for another  appointment.   Most of us hear the word melanoma and we know  now  that  it  is  a  form of skin cancer.  But instead of worrying  on hearing the news  she thought,   “OK, so what do I need  to  do  to  take  care  of  it?”  She admits that at the time she really did  not know  enough  about  melanoma or about her diagnosis to get upset.

Just a few months before her diagnosis she and  Jimmy were vacationing in Maui with Jimmy’s  sister  Kathy  and brother-in-law, Larry.  She  recalls everyone getting a sunburn  except  for  herself.   She  even remembers the remark she made that day. “You  guys  need  to  be careful, that could  be  dangerous”  She thought  she would  be  the  least-likely person  to get  skin  cancer.

Hilary is not considered “high risk.” In other words, she does  not have light  skin, eyes or hair.  Instead, she has naturally dark skin  and  does not easily burn.   She  can remember   having  only  one sunburn in  her life  as  a teenager.

After the  ¾ inch  cancerous lesion of skin was removed  Hilary began  routine blood  work every  three months and  a chest x-ray every  six months.   If  the  disease  is fast  growing  she  was  told  it  could  progress   to   the  liver,  lymph nodes,  lungs   then  to  the brain.   It  was  during   one  of   these  follow- up   appointments   two years  later  melanoma was found again on  her back.   A  large   scar   now   runs   along  her   spine   where   the  melanoma   was  found  on  her   back  and  surgically removed.

Now she still  enjoys  the  sun however since then she has made responsible lifestyle changes concerning sun safety. She  never  goes  out  without sunscreen and wears sun proof  clothing.  Even when it came to the type of boat she  and  Jimmy purchased they had sun safety in mind.  She  says,  “We  never  take  the  canopy  off  the boat.”

Hilary says Jimmy  has  been  there to help and support her every step of the way.  But when dealing with this disease  she has learned to be her biggest  support  in order to stay strong.  In her words; “I’m not going to quit living but I am taking the knowledge I have and using it to live healthier. Knowing my history with melanoma, I accept that I have the potential for this to recur. I don’t worry about what I cannot control but I understand that I will deal with it and I will be strong.” Hilary  is a survivor. ~JBC