The plan is to do a brain MRI on Saturday to see if the cancer has spread there. Then they will do another pelvic bone biopsy to make sure the cancer there is from the melanoma and not another cancer altogether (like a sarcoma). The doctor is 95% sure it is metastatic melanoma in his pelvic bone, but they want to make sure as it would change treatment. Once all of the testing is done they want to take out the affected pelvic bone and all of the lymph nodes on his left side. After the surgery the plan is to give him an immunotherapy drug called Interferon. It is a one year treatment every few weeks. It's intended to act with his body's immune system to fight the cancer. The prognosis with all of these plans is 25% which is the best possible at this point.
Tiffany and Jon both seem to be in good spirits and have positive attitudes about the plan.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
About Jon and Tiffany
Jon (30) and Tiffany (26) have been happily married for 7 years. They have two adorable children, Maxwell (age 4) and Kenadee (age 1). Jon was recently diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic melanoma. (Find more information about this cancer here.)
About 7.5 years ago Jon had a suspicious looking mole removed from his back. It turned out to be melanoma, a very dangerous and potentially deadly form of skin cancer. At the time they attempted to remove the cancer from the area by removing some nearby lymph-nodes and the mole. They thought they got it all and for the last 7 years his blood work has looked "normal".
5 months ago Jon noticed a small, tender lump under his arm. He waited for it to heal and get better (hoping for the best) but the lump only continued to grow. A biopsy was done and they found out that the lump was actually melanoma; apparently there were some cancerous cells left from the original site and it has now spread (metastasized).
Soon after this was discovered, Jon experienced some tenderness in his leg/groin area and then cancer was discovered in his pelvic bone also. This is believed to be melanoma as well, but a bone sample needs to be taken before that can be verified. The type of cancer that is in his bone will determine how the doctors will treat the cancer.
The outlook isn't great. Even with all of the best treatments (and "best case scenarios") Jon has about a 25% chance of a cure. Jon is a strong person and he is not going to give up! He is an amazing daddy and a great husband and isn't about to leave his beautiful family without a fight. And the doctors have told him that he definitely is in for the fight of his life.
Jon has already had many medical procedures done, with many MANY more to come. They do have insurance but the deductibles and their out of pocket costs are starting to (and will continue to) pile up. We can help this amazing young family by donating money, spreading the word and offering our prayers and support.
Please help however you can!
About 7.5 years ago Jon had a suspicious looking mole removed from his back. It turned out to be melanoma, a very dangerous and potentially deadly form of skin cancer. At the time they attempted to remove the cancer from the area by removing some nearby lymph-nodes and the mole. They thought they got it all and for the last 7 years his blood work has looked "normal".
5 months ago Jon noticed a small, tender lump under his arm. He waited for it to heal and get better (hoping for the best) but the lump only continued to grow. A biopsy was done and they found out that the lump was actually melanoma; apparently there were some cancerous cells left from the original site and it has now spread (metastasized).
Soon after this was discovered, Jon experienced some tenderness in his leg/groin area and then cancer was discovered in his pelvic bone also. This is believed to be melanoma as well, but a bone sample needs to be taken before that can be verified. The type of cancer that is in his bone will determine how the doctors will treat the cancer.
The outlook isn't great. Even with all of the best treatments (and "best case scenarios") Jon has about a 25% chance of a cure. Jon is a strong person and he is not going to give up! He is an amazing daddy and a great husband and isn't about to leave his beautiful family without a fight. And the doctors have told him that he definitely is in for the fight of his life.
Jon has already had many medical procedures done, with many MANY more to come. They do have insurance but the deductibles and their out of pocket costs are starting to (and will continue to) pile up. We can help this amazing young family by donating money, spreading the word and offering our prayers and support.
Please help however you can!
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