Melanoma is the most dangerous form of skin cancer – and it can be hard to treat if not caught early. While there is a genetic component to melanoma, lifestyle habits including UV exposure can increase the risk of the disease.
In an interview with CBS Austin, Austin Surgeons patient, Carrie Dehmlow, shared her three-time skin cancer journey and how general surgeon Jeffrey Meynig, M.D. performed a minimally invasive procedure to determine if the cancer had spread.
You can read the story below and watch the interview on our YouTube channel.
Carrie Dehmlow was preparing to become a first-time mother when she noticed a troublesome mole on her back.
"I was seven months pregnant, and I was 29 and I was more worried about my son than anything and to make sure everything was okay."
She got the mole removed that day and tested. The results came back as melanoma, a form of skin cancer.
"It all started when I was a teenager; you're laying in the sun, I did tanning beds, didn't think anything of it," said Dehmlow.
After welcoming her son, she started chemotherapy. Eventually, she got the "all clear" from doctors. However, a few years later she received another melanoma diagnosis. She underwent radiation treatment.
"It was my second son in 2006. I was about seven months pregnant as well. I had a lump under under my left arm," said Dehmlow.
Dr. Jeffrey T. Meynig with Austin Surgeons says there are three major types of skin cancer: squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and melanoma.
"The melanomas can be the most dangerous, they can spread, and they can cause disease that needs to be treated more aggressively and even life threatening," said Dr. Meynig.
Carrie met Dr. Meynig in March 2022, when she received her third melanoma diagnosis. She battled the first two diagnoses in Minnesota but moved to Leander, Texas several years ago. The latest melanoma was discovered on her ear by her oldest son, and it had to be surgically removed.
"That original piece that we had found and then going into my neck and finding the closest lymph node and taking that out as well," said Dehmlow.
That's a procedure called is called sentinel lymph node biopsy. It's a minimally invasive where they evaluate the closest lymph node to the cancer to determine if the cancer has spread. According to Austin Surgeons, Dr. Meynig was one of the first surgeons to introduce this technique in Austin.
"We can actually identify just that one or two nodes during the operation and remove only those nodes, and then that tells us whether there's tumor spread or not," said Meynig, "That gives us a lot of information about the patient's risk of having tumor and other sites, or if they're going to get it back or if they need to have additional treatment."
Thankfully, Carrie is healthy today and grateful to spend more time with her family. Her sons are now 17 and 15 years old.
"Since I've had it three times, I don't know if there's going to be a fourth. I don't know if I'm going to be here. I hate to say that, but I don't know. And I just I tried to be there for everything that they do. I don't I don't want to miss anything," said Carrie.
Dr. Meynig reminds Austinites that skin cancer affects many people. According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, melanoma rates in the United States doubled from 1988 to 2019.
"This year I'm seeing more younger folks than I have in past years," said Meynig, "It really does vary. I've seen people in their 80s that come in with melanoma as well."
The UV index in Austin forecasts multiple days of extreme or very high-risk levels, which makes sunscreen, shade, and skin checks even more important.
"Just go [to the doctor] even if it's nothing. Just go, put sunscreen on. It doesn't take much," said Dehmlow.
For more information about the surgical treatment of melanoma, visit austinsurgeons.net or call (512) 467-7151.
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