Paitent Stories

Sean Wachter

Fight Forever: A Melanoma Survivor’s Journey

My name is Sean Wachter, and I am a proud melanoma survivor and cancer advocate. I’m located on Long Island, New York, married with two daughters, and currently work as the Business Development Manager for Global Interactive Group. I’m also an MBA candidate. Additionally, I moonlight as a professional wrestler, using this platform to inspire my fellow cancer warriors to fight harder and live fuller. If I can achieve that, my battle was worth it, and I would relive it all in a heartbeat. 

My diagnosis came on September 26th, 2016, after being ignored by my doctors for months. This experience is why I push people to advocate for themselves so hard. I had a massive stroke caused by a golf ball-sized brain tumour in my cerebellum. I was diagnosed with Stage IV Melanoma with metastasis to my throat, lungs, bowels, kidneys, and stomach. It didn’t stop there; it also spread to my cerebral spinal fluid, resulting in leptomeningeal disease. I was given 12 weeks to live. However, I’ve been a fighter my entire life. It was time to handle this with a cerebral plan of attack and a warrior’s mindset. 

During this time, I was fortunate to have the support of exceptional people at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, my family, and numerous high school and college football teammates. The true support, though, came from my girlfriend, who started dating me a year into my illness. She asked me to help raise her 14-month-old daughter at the time; she is now my wife, the mother of our child, and that little girl is now my stepdaughter. 

My treatment course involved 120 rounds of Opdivo, years of Tafinlar and Mekinist, three rounds of radiation, and a craniotomy. With all this treatment, the grace of a higher power, and a never-give-up spirit, I became the only documented DNA-certified globally known cured case of my cancer. 

For anyone reading this, I always quote the late ESPN personality Stuart Scott, a fellow cancer warrior: “When you die it doesn’t mean you lose to cancer,  you beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you live. So LIVE.” Keep living. There is life during and after cancer. Don’t let it win by taking your joys from you. Cook, travel, exercise, fight like hell, laugh, and cry. Live an all-out life. The results may not only shock you but also your doctors. The choice is ultimately yours to “Fight Forever.” 

Follow Sean’s journey on Instagram @thecancerfighterseanwachter.