Patient Stories

Lauren  Smith

Melanoma Altered My Trajectory

Melanoma wasn’t something I was afraid of growing up. My dad had pre-cancerous skin lesions but insisted that I inherited my mom’s skin. I trusted his opinion. So, when my mom noticed a weird mole on my right shoulder in the summer of 2022, I brushed it off. When I finally got a punch biopsy in early 2023, this mole was diagnosed as melanoma. 

Nothing too dramatic happened after this revelation. Stages weren’t mentioned at this point. I had a wide excision to remove tissue, but the doctor performing the surgery didn’t recommend a lymph node biopsy. I just went on with my life thinking “bullet dodged”. Then, in early 2024, I noticed a lump in my neck – an enlarged lymph node. By April, it was surgically removed and tests came back positive as metastatic BRAF V600E mutated cutaneous melanoma. Now I was scared.  

However, again doctors didn’t seem too concerned at this stage 3 diagnosis and I was left treatment free until the lump grew back. It grew quickly over the summer, starting in May until August and I was desperate for someone to do something. I couldn’t see one locally because of scheduling and the surgeon who did my first surgery had been in a car accident. When I finally got to see a surgeon in Kelowna, she looked scared. Immediately after the surgeon saw the lump, I was put on IV immunotherapy. 

Thinking I was going to die soon, my mom and I planned a last-minute road trip to California. My passport was expiring too soon to go to Europe. By the end of that trip, I was so achy and sore I was moving like I was 80. I got a PET scan when I returned and waited to see if it was just the immunotherapy making me sore. Sadly, on September 20th I found out that the cancer had spread to my spine and a few other bones. I was now stage 4 and terminal – no longer eligible for immunotherapy and instead put on two pills, the end-of-the-line treatment for melanoma, Braftovi (encorafenib) and Mektovi (binimetinib).  

The situation was bleak and my prognosis was poor, but within a few months on the new medications and a week of radiation treatments, my cancer stabilized.  The drugs worked a miracle, but they didn’t come without costs. A frugal saver my whole life, cancer destabilized me. I started buying everything I wanted. I opened myself to travel and discovered a way to feel momentum and purpose despite being off work. It started with a trip to Ottawa a month after I had radiation. In Summer of 2025, I took two trips to Vancouver Island. I also got a chance to go to Italy and the Bahamas, as well as plan a trip to Spain and Portugal before the real costs of the medications appeared. 

In early 2026, I found out that the Mektovi was harming my heart.  Ordered to stop taking that medication, I kept taking the Braftovi and that’s when all hell broke loose. I experienced horrible back pain (arthritis), hair loss, extreme fatigue, and worst of all hand and foot syndrome. My hands started peeling all over and my feet developed thick calluses – hyperkeratosis. The pain in my feet was bad. Going from walking around 5km a day, now I could only handle being on my feet for a short time. It felt like I’d been on them all day after 5 minutes and they ached like they’d been stomped on. 

There wasn’t anything that could be done. I had to give up my cancer treatment altogether to get my quality of life back. 

After two months with no treatment, I had a PET scan. It came back clear, not showing signs of new or active cancer. My most recent echocardiogram showed restored heart function, so I have been put back on the medications at the lowest dose. The hope of a drug trial is dependent on showing measurable cancer, so I’m left with these  end of the line treatments, praying it doesn’t get bad enough that I become eligible for a trial. 

I’m very lucky the medications have worked. It could have gone far worse. My advice to anyone who has a mole come back positive for melanoma is to be assertive and urgently ask for a sentinel lymph node biopsy. I think one believe that a biopsy would have caught my advancing cancer almost a year earlier.  If you have cancer that spreads to your lymph nodes, my advice is: don’t ever let a doctor’s calm demeanor lull you into a false sense of security. Insist on treatment immediately. There are more options at stage 3 and you shouldn’t go without trying at least one of them as soon as you know it’s cancer. 

My current plan is to throw myself into travel. I feel like it’s a big part of my recovery and one of the reasons the PET scan came back clear. I really believe that when you travel, you’re creating an opportunity to make special memories and this creates new neural networks inside your mind. You’re opening yourself to experiences that will change your potential and the way you think. 

I started a blog, www.deliberatelifeandtravel.com about my trips and my life philosophy. I’ve learned that if you do things that require you to be present in the moment, you experience life more fully and confidently know what you want. Planning a trip can be a source of hope and motivation to keep going when treatment makes you feel crappy. I hope to inspire others to travel despite any challenge they have. There’s so much to see in this world.   

Disclaimer

The experiences shared in this story are those of the author and reflect their personal journey. Links to external websites are provided for informational purposes only and do not imply endorsement by Melanoma Canada of the content, opinions, products, services, or therapies discussed on those sites. The information shared is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult your healthcare team before making decisions about your health or treatment.