Katie with her family in 2019, after she was declared five years cancer free.
All photos courtesy of Katie Ostrovsky
When I was just 25 years old, I was diagnosed with melanoma. I fought a grueling 8-year battle with the disease, which spread to my brain, lung, uterus, kidneys and spine. I share my story of survival to urge everyone to check their skin regularly and to see a dermatologist if something doesn’t look or feel right. Skin cancer can be deadly, and early detection can save your life.
That’s why I am a strong advocate for The Skin Cancer Foundation’s Destination Healthy Skin program. I have volunteered at the RV and have seen firsthand how this program saves lives through early detection.
My First Melanoma
In 2006, I had a dark mole under my left forearm that itched all the time. When it started to bleed, I made an appointment with a dermatologist.
My doctor performed a deep shave biopsy on the mole and mentioned it might be skin cancer. With my 3-year-old daughter and husband sitting next to me, all I could focus on was the word “cancer.” Before this moment, skin cancer had never crossed my mind. I was busy caring for my family and just thought it was an itchy mole.
It took four weeks to confirm my diagnosis. I had stage IIA malignant melanoma, which meant the cancer was local but could have spread to my lymph nodes. After additional testing, I was relieved to learn that the melanoma had not spread, and I was in the clear.
That relief only lasted two years.
My Recurrence
During those two years, I joyfully gave birth to my second daughter. I was diligent about my skin checks as I was petrified of the skin cancer returning. I visited The Skin Cancer Foundation’s website and read everything I could about how to prevent skin cancer and perform self-exams at home. So when I noticed a lump the size of a ping pong ball on my left armpit, the same arm where my biopsy had been performed when I had melanoma, I began to worry about the possibility of recurrence.
I was home, caring for my 1-month-old daughter when the phone rang. “I have the results of your biopsy,” the doctor said. “Unfortunately, I have bad news. Your melanoma has returned.” This time, it was stage IIIC metastatic cancer, and it had spread to my lymph nodes.
It was 2008, and there were not a lot of treatment options. I was given “less than a 5 percent chance” of survival for five years. My family and I traveled across our home state of Arizona, meeting with every oncologist who would answer my calls. It wasn’t until I was accepted into a clinical trial through the Mayo Clinic that I started to feel any hope.
I traveled every three weeks for treatments to be a part of a double-blind drug trial. Right before the third treatment, I received devastating news – the melanoma had progressed to stage IV and spread to my right lung.
The War Inside My Body
Katie in the hospital, recovering from surgery.
In June 2009, I had surgery to remove the metastatic tumors from my lung and started chemotherapy in September. In October, I had surgery to remove the tumor in my spine. By November, the melanoma had reached my brain and, in December, I had surgery to remove the tumor from my left frontal lobe, along with radiation on my brain and uterus. Two weeks later, I was scheduled for my fourth surgery in seven months to remove an ovarian tumor along with my right ovary and fallopian tube, which crushed my dream of expanding our family.
By January 2010, I had more than 100 metastatic melanoma tumors all over my body. My medical team stopped counting the tumors on the scans because there were literally too many to count.
Fighting for a Miracle
In February, my doctor told me, “This is it.” I had only weeks to live. She asked me what’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and I said, “I’ve always wanted to take our girls to Disneyland.” I didn’t know how much time I had left, and I wanted my daughters to have magical memories together to look back on. My doctor told us we shouldn’t wait and we should go the very next day. So, 24 hours later, we went to Disneyland for the trip of a lifetime.
After that trip, I knew there was no world where I wouldn’t be there for my daughters. I had to keep fighting. Melanoma would not take me away from my family.
I kept trying various drug and therapy combinations until the drug I had been in the clinical trial for, ipilimumab, was approved by the FDA. After multiple doses of that drug, in addition to the other drugs in my system, my treatment plan started working.
From 2011 to 2014, the cancerous tumors slowly disappeared. It was a miracle. My body was finally starting to heal. I was pronounced cancer-free at the end of 2014, eight years after my first dermatologist appointment. I didn’t really believe I was in the clear until 2019, when I was five years cancer-free. It was then that I felt comfortable enough to share my story.
Finding The Skin Cancer Foundation
My survival compelled me to educate people about how serious skin cancer is. I relied on the resources, facts and statistics on The Skin Cancer Foundation’s website to educate my friends, family and community about the importance of early detection, prevention and treatment.
I also volunteered for Destination Healthy Skin, at events held in Tempe, Arizona. It was amazing to be on board the 38-foot RV, with volunteer dermatologists offering free skin cancer screenings to anyone who stopped by. Connecting with program participants and sharing my story was powerful. People were shocked to hear that melanoma wasn’t just on my skin, but it had spread to my brain, lung, uterus, kidneys and spine.
Katie volunteering at the Destination Healthy Skin RV.
