Marcia Abbott - A Supporter's Story
"I was six months pregnant with my first child when I had my first melanoma at the age of 33. I happened to notice that a mole I'd had on my right shoulder had grown a bit - and darkened. Since I was in Aspen and not planning on coming to New York until the eighth month of my pregnancy, I decided to ignore it. I'd had a mole right next to it taken off a few years earlier and the results had been mild dysplasia so I assumed this mole was headed in the same direction.
Upon returning to New York I went to see my dermatologist, who took one look at it and cancelled his next appointment. By then I must admit the mole had grown and its shape was starting to look like a blooming flower. It was removed and mercifully came back with the "in situ" diagnosis. Looking back over my childhood, I can tell you that I got a very bad sunburn on the exact spot as my melanoma when I was about 13. I was in the Caribbean and ended up with a raised blister the day after being (too long!) in the sun. We didn't know then how dangerous the sun could be.
About a year after the initial melanoma I saw a spot on my right thigh that looked funny to me. It was a tiny mole, but it was darker in color than the rest of my moles and the edges looked suspiciously uneven to me. My dermatologist told me it was fine -- and too small to worry about, but after checking it myself with a loop at home, I bothered him about it until he agreed to take it off (probably more to get rid of me than out of worry). Thankfully it was "in situ" again, but melanoma nevertheless.
Since then I've had full-body checks twice a year and countless moles removed, all with varying degrees of abnormality. During my next two pregnancies I had many moles, which changed in color and texture but I had them removed right away -- usually with a diagnosis of dysplasia. My father, too, had a melanoma on his scalp removed which was stage 1 so perhaps it runs our family. We all need to learn how to reduce our risk of melanoma to protect ourselves and future generations.”
- Marcia Abbott, philanthropist and melanoma survivor