Ernest, Melanoma Survivor
When you hear about melanoma, you usually think of skin cancer, but that is not always the case.
My name is Ernest and I have a mucosal melanoma, a rare form of cancer that starts inside the body. This is my story…
I always led a healthy life. The only issue I ever had was an injured ligament in my right shoulder. I exercised regularly, maintained a healthy diet and stayed active as an energy industry salesman.
My battle with melanoma began in May 2015 when I started experiencing flu-like symptoms. I never get sick, so when I started experiencing severe stomach pain, extreme fatigue and when I randomly lost 10 pounds, I knew it was time to get to the doctor. My primary physician put me on antibiotics, but that didn’t help. I went to another physician and got stronger antibiotics, but those didn’t work either. In fact, things got worse.
I made another appointment with my primary physician to have blood work done and we discovered that my white blood count was extremely high. I also had an ultrasound and chest scan done and we found that my liver was filled with tumors. I went to the hospital to have a biopsy and they also performed an endoscopy and colonoscopy. It was then they discovered I had tumors in my small intestines as well.
I was diagnosed with mucosal (duodenal or small bowel) melanoma and was referred to Dr. Fadi Braiteh at Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada. After running more tests, he found additional growths in my lymph nodes.
Thankfully, Dr. Braiteh had seen cases like mine before. That was very comforting. I felt like I was in good hands.
After reviewing my medical history and current condition, Dr. Braiteh immediately recommended I take a combination of drugs: nivolumab, commercially known as Opdivo, along with ipilimumab, commercially known as Yervoy. Dr. Braiteh explained that there were both new forms of immunotherapy which would boost my body’s immune system to fight the cancer cells. I had a great feeling about this treatment, so I was ready to get started right away.
My first treatment was on July 31, 2015.
In November, Dr. Braiteh took me off Yervoy and increased my dosage of Opdivo. And, in January 2016, my scans showed no cancer in my lymph nodes and no active cancer in my other tumors.
I am so lucky that Dr. Braiteh had seen patients like me before. I am confident in his knowledge to treat this rare form of cancer. After my last check-in, I am happy to report that the treatment is working, and I am well on my way to being cancer-free.