Malignant Melanoma Changed My Life

by REF
(California, USA)

My girlfriend was the most amazing woman I have ever had an honor to meet. She was a successful entrepreneur, who dedicates half of her time to charity work.

She was beautiful and intelligent, a rare combination. Four years ago she moved to Bali, Indonesia to enjoy one of the greatest surf spots in the world, and volunteer at a local orphanage.

She loved Bali so much that she insisted on hosting our wedding there. While she was planning for the wedding, she realized that a few important things on her list were not available in Bali.

So she flew back home, just in time for Thanksgiving. She was so tanned. I noticed some bumps under her skin and some discoloration all over, so I took her to the doctor.

She was diagnosed with Malignant Melanoma. She wanted to go back to Bali, but that was no longer an option. The doctor started the treatment immediately, by removing two tumors from her left arm. She was in stage 2.

She was depressed and down for the first few months, then she persuaded me to go back to Bali with her and our wedding took place three months later.

She had to come back home for treatment again. This time, the doctor told me not to get my hopes up but I was not willing to do that yet. I was busy studying about her conditions, all day, and every day.

We travelled around the country to get second, third, and even forth opinion. Her condition got worse, and worse. At that point, the cancer had metastasized to her brain.

Exactly fifteen months after she was diagnosed, she left me to a better place. I wish we had known about it earlier. I wish she knew how to prevent it. I wish I could have done more to help her. Malignant Melanoma changed my life forever.