How my first job saved my life

By Maria Grant
I was 24 years old and melanoma was the furthest thing from my mind. I had recently completed my Master's Degree, moved to New York City, and started a fantastic job. Melanoma would have probably remained the furthest thing from my mind until it was too late, if I hadn’t been blessed to work for a company that truly cared about employee health.

I’d never been to a dermatologist for a mole check. I had no idea I was supposed to, even though I’d spent many summers baking in the Jersey Shore sunshine. When I saw an email that our employee health center was sponsoring a free skin cancer screening; however, I was quick to sign up. Being a bit of a worrier, I never pass up free health care and thought it would be interesting to get my skin evaluated. At the screening, the dermatologist found a dark mole on my back that he thought should be removed as a precaution. But he wasn’t completely thorough. Once I left, I remembered a fairly new mole between my toes that he didn’t see. When I went to have the mole on my back removed, I showed my toe to the doctor. He suggested that the toe mole should also be removed for safety, but it was likely just irregular and we could do it at my follow-up visit. A few weeks later, the mole was removed and I was actually a little irritated that I put myself through so much pain and suffering – it hurt walking around New York City with an injured foot! I’d all but forgotten about the toe mole when the dermatologist called me a few weeks later. I was working away at my desk one afternoon when my life changed forever. He informed me in a very professional voice that, after several opinions from various pathologists, they determined that the mole on my toe was melanoma. To his credit, he offered that I could come down to his office immediately to speak with him about the next steps. The rest of the afternoon was a blur. A friend of mine from work went with me to see the doctor, where I got my first education about melanoma. I knew it was cancer, but not much else. Fortunately for me, when I got the diagnosis, I had no idea how serious a type of cancer it is. But the word “cancer” was enough to deeply terrify me. Thankfully, the melanoma was still quite small, so the likelihood that it spread was also relatively small although not insignificant. The dermatologist informed me that the next step would be to get an excision of the skin on my toe – when they cut away a large amount of skin around where the melanoma had been to see if any was left. He told me that there were only one or two doctors in all of New York City that he would trust with the surgery, and he recommended Dr. Richard Shapiro at NYU Medical Center. Dr. Shapiro’s office got me an appointment the very next day.

Richard L. Shapiro, MD, FACS**

With trepidation, my now-husband and I went to Dr. Shapiro’s office the following afternoon. We immediately liked and respected Dr. Shapiro, a young doctor who was quite clearly already an expert in his field. He explained to me that he was probably the only doctor in the City who wouldn’t remove at least one toe, being confident he could complete the excision by just cutting enough skin. I trusted his judgment completely and was happy to keep my toes! A few days later, I was in the operating room at NYU hospital with Dr. Shapiro and a myriad of other people who were observing the surgery. I was awake the whole time and was quite nervous, as it was my first surgery. After the painful needle in the foot, it was a breeze, though. I was all stitched up and out the door before I knew it.

But the recovery was tough as the wound on my toe was extremely painful. Through it all, my company remained extremely supportive, giving me all the time I needed to heal and offering help with doctor referrals and other medical advice from employee health as needed. When the results from the biopsy came in, I was thankful to hear that the melanoma was completely gone. The margins were clear; all of the melanoma had been taken off with the mole. This being the case, Dr. Shapiro felt that we could proceed with no further treatment beyond check-ups every 3-6 months. And to top it all off, he did such a great job with the stitches that it’s tough to tell where the incision was. Almost every doctor I see compliments his handiwork. It’s been thirteen years since my melanoma diagnosis, and while I’ve had some scares and some irregular moles since, I’ve been blessed to have no recurrences of melanoma. I have a beautiful family with two amazing children, and I shudder to think about what could have happened had I not gone to the skin cancer screening … had my company not offered the skin cancer screening. Interestingly enough, my husband was diagnosed with melanoma seven years after me, and his story also had a happy ending. Now, we are both incredibly diligent about going to the dermatologist every six (6) months for our check-ups and about slathering ourselves and our children with sunscreen. Our diagnoses prompted many friends and family members to get skin checks as well, some of them revealing problematic moles. Hopefully what we’ve learned can help others avoid the diagnoses we received. And I remain immensely grateful to the company who cared enough about the health of its employees to spend the money to create life-saving programs.

Maria Grant is currently a stay-at-home mom, residing in Ft. Collins, Colorado, with her family. Prior to leaving the corporate world, she worked in Investment Research at Goldman Sachs in New York City. **Editor’s Note: Richard L. Shapiro MD, FACS, is an Associate Professor; Department of Surgery (Oncology FGP), NYU Breast and Surgical Oncology Associates. The clinical practice of Richard L. Shapiro, MD, FACS, is focused on the comprehensive care of patients with Malignant Melanoma, Breast cancer, and unusual skin cancers and tumors (Merkel cell, Sarcoma). Dr. Shapiro holds many academic appointments, has received multiple honors and awards, and has published numerous papers.