'It was the day after Thanksgiving when I got a call from the dermatologist with the results. 'Your biopsy results came back and you have Acral Lentiginous Melanoma,' she told me. 'Enjoy your Black Friday and the rest of the Thanksgiving weekend.'”
Michele Modestin, 55, wasn’t bothered by the two slim, black lines running up her ring finger. She just thought they were a scratch or a scar. Then, in her late 40s, a concerned dermatologist took a biopsy and diagnosed her with Acral Lentiginous Melanoma, a type of melanoma that's more common in people of color and often goes undiagnosed. According to the
She looked at the nail and said, “I wouldn’t worry about the nail, but I don’t like the look of those two lines.” Based on her concerned facial expression, I knew she must be seeing something I didn’t. To her medical eye, the lines didn’t look normal. So I went to my dermatologist, and they took a biopsy of it.
Eventually I got referred to Richard Shapiro, MD, at NYU Langone Health Center. He said, “You have the same type of cancer that Bob Marley had.” I knew a little bit about his story: They took the toenail and not the toe, and then it metastasized to his brain. I realized I had to do the amputation.I’m not one of those people who needs two or three diagnoses or second opinions. I don’t sit on things. I’m a single mom, and I need to live for my children.
That’s when it sunk in that I would have to learn how to use my hand again through rehab. Things you take for granted, like opening a car door, typing, going to a vending machine and taking change out. I spent a year with a physical therapist who did what she needed to do to build both my hand and self-esteem back up.I remember when I first saw my stump, my daughter Chanel was there. They took the bandages off and I broke down. At that point, it sunk in.
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