Description
In this Conquering Cancer segment from THV11, Karen Fuller speaks with Whitney Maxwell, a mother and avid gardener who once enjoyed regular tanning sessions. That changed when a mole on her neck revealed a diagnosis of melanoma. Join her as she shares her emotional journey and the invaluable lessons learned about sun safety, with insights from Dr. Sonia T. Orcutt, a surgical oncologist with UAMS Health.
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Karen Fuller:
While many of us are enjoying fun in the sun, the medical community in Arkansas wants us to be mindful of sun safety. In our Conquering Cancer report this morning, meet a local woman who also loves the sun but learned a lifesaving lesson after a diagnosis of the skin cancer melanoma.
Whitney Maxwell is a wife and mother of two girls and loves to spend time gardening. She admits she also likes the look of a nice tan and used to spend plenty of time at a tanning salon. But when a mole on her neck began to change, she says that UV exposure didn’t seem so pretty.
Whitney Maxwell:
I was scared immediately because that’s scary. You don’t know what’s going to happen. I didn’t know anything about it at the time. You just don’t ever think it’s going to be you.
Fuller:
Her dermatologist removed the mole and sent it off for a biopsy. One afternoon, she got a call.
Maxwell:
He tells me, “Sorry to have to break the news. It did come back, and it was melanoma.”
Fuller:
Whitney was referred to Dr. Sonia Orcutt, the director of surgical oncology at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.
Maxwell:
She explained everything in detail of what we were going to do. She made me feel comfortable. She was great.
Fuller:
Dr. Orcutt didn’t see Whitney’s mole before it was removed but knew that with melanoma, there are two important factors in deciding how to treat it.
Sonia T. Orcutt, M.D.:
So one is the spot itself, and then the other one is the risk of spreading to lymph nodes. Those are the two big things that we worry about. It’s not just, “This is melanoma.” It’s, “This is melanoma with these features that put her at this risk of then developing spread to other parts of the body.”
Fuller:
After the surgery, Whitney says waiting for word on her lymph node was the hardest part. Would the cancer have spread? And if it had, what would that mean for her husband and two beautiful girls?
Maxwell:
Your mind starts going and thinking the worst.
Fuller:
But Dr. Orcutt had good news to deliver on this phone call.
Maxwell:
We were outside working in our yard and I hollered, “It’s negative!”
Fuller:
I asked Whitney what it was like to know those fears wouldn’t be coming true. She immediately thought of her 15-year-old daughter.
Maxwell:
That’s at the age where she wants to tan. She wants the lay in the tanning bed. Now, I’m aware of how dangerous it can be. And I let her know, “You have to wear sunscreen. And we absolutely are not laying in the tanning bed.”
Fuller:
Dr. Orcutt says she is seeing a surprising and positive trend among young people these days. She says social media platforms, even TikTok, are promoting good skincare routines like using SPF. So she’s hoping a new generation can prevent melanomas by spreading the word.
