Merciful Measure: Ginny’s Story

Amazing changes can transpire in one day of a life that transport you into a complex scenario you had never dreamed to be a part of. This was the situation for Ginny, a retired woman who worked as a part-time tutor and adored her quiet country town surroundings.

Then one day, she happened to take notice of a small lump in the upper area of her breast, being well informed in women’s health issues, Ginny went to her physician. Upon the exam, her doctor assured her that this was a small clogged pore and of no consequence. Ginny was relieved and then some small stirring inside told her to show him a mole on her shoulder. She remembered his comment, “Hmm… that’s not good.” She was given an appointment to a dermatologist for the following week. “I saw it growing in just one week; it was dividing and getting thicker,” said Ginny.

“When I saw the dermatologist, he said we could take it off in the office, but I had done a lot of reading on Melanoma and learned it can go very deep and travel in pathways to different parts of the body. I had a four week window to do surgery and mapping.” Once again, the stirring from within lead Ginny to take action herself. She made an appointment to go to the University of Washington Melanoma Center. There was the ability to do Nuclear Mapping, which shows the path the Melanoma has taken. For Ginny, it was from her shoulder and into lymph glands up her neck and not under her arm. Without that mapping, the procedure is a lot more guess work and watching.

When her Doctor called with the biopsy report he said, “I have good news and bad news, the good news is we isolated it, the bad news is it is stage four Melanoma.” Ginny recalled her feelings, “It was traumatic when they first diagnosed me with cancer. So many people are afraid of even the word cancer. For some reason though, I didn’t feel as bad as you would think when they told me that I was stage four, and that I had to have further lymph glands removed.” There had been a long month of healing from the prior surgery.

Ginny checked into her local medical cancer center to have the lymph glands removed. “I had prayed, researched, and read everything that I could find. After my surgery, my oncologist set me up for Interferon treatment. I did not feel that was the way I wanted to go with this. The night before I was to go for the Interferon, I just had a horrible feeling, and so I called and canceled the appointment.”

It was then that Ginny made the personal decision and commitment to go with natural treatment and nutrition to fight for her body’s health. “For me, it was the only choice. My oncologist said to me during one appointment, “Well you are not going to live very long.” Doctors need to be honest and I understand, but my naturopath always gave me hope, was never negative, and taught me how my body worked in healing. The supplements seemed to help. I went ten years and was cancer free, ten years is a long time!” said Ginny.

This past June, Ginny admitted by now she was operating in a complacent manner when the cancer returned. “I was walking past the mirror after my shower when I noticed a mole on the back of my shoulder in the reflection. I did not wait even though I had just had my routine exam by my dermatologist in April. Obviously he missed it, or maybe it grew that fast.” Due to Ginny’s diligence, the Melanoma was detected early and easily removed! Ginny wants our readers to know, “I do not believe in let’s wait and see! If a doctor tells you that, go somewhere else right away, also research and learn, you have to notice what changes take place on your body. Make sure you have annual visits to get checked!” she added softly

“I am now seldom sick. I have never been healthier or had more energy. I have benefited so much with a healthier lifestyle, and I have a much stronger, dedicated spiritual path.” Ginny shared in her strong faith as a guide to her healing. “My illness has been a source of empowerment to me.”

Valerie Kelly