Man diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma after this symptom
BEACHWOOD, Ohio (WJW) — It was in April 2019 that Rob Nosanchuk, a senior rabbi at Fairmount Temple in Beachwood, said a trip to the ER for a stomach pain would lead to a life-altering diagnosis.
“I was dealing with some significant abdominal pain that I woke up with,” he said. “And I do what a lot of people do, I just blew it off. I went to the clinic and met with an oncologist who explained to me the severity of my diagnosis.”
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The 54-year-old husband and father of two said it was stage 4 melanoma. The disease wasn’t on his skin; it was in the form of a mass in his abdomen.
Instead of chemotherapy, he was treated with immunotherapy, a new and advanced type of treatment that uses the body immune system to fight the cancer.
“Drugs that are called checkpoint inhibitor drugs that essentially get your own body’s t-cells to go ahead and fight your cancer,” he said.
The American Cancer Society said the risk of melanoma increases as people age, with the average diagnosis at 66 years old. But doctors say the disease is not uncommon, even for those younger than 30.
“As many as three percent of the Caucasian population can get melanoma. It’s much less common for people who have more pigment in their skin.”
Dr. Melissa Piliang is the chair of dermatology at the Cleveland Clinic. She said common signs can include a rash, itchy nodules under the skin, an uneven-colored mole or one with a blurred border.
“Avoid the sun in the middle of the day, when it’s at your peak,” said Piliang. “Wear your sunscreen, you want at least an SPF of 30.”
“I was just so grateful that I had the opportunity to get treated before it was too late,” said Nosanchuk.
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It’s now been five years since his diagnosis, and he has no evidence of the disease. Sharing his story to help others is vital, he said.
“I get the pleasure of doing work every day that matters to me. And that’s a privilege,” he said.
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