Bay Area Melanoma Survivors

During our first week in CA, we had a backyard BBQ get-together with some of my melanoma friends in the Bay Area that I have met. They are all SURVIVORS-Sue, a 5- year survivor of Stage 4 Ocular Melanoma; Tina, a 5-year survivor of Stage 4 Melanoma; and Mike, a 2-year survivor of Stage 3. All of these friends and survivors are so IMPORTANT to me and have helped me tremendously through treatments (Tina and Sue completed the same treatment as I) and I think that by personally knowing survivors, people that have already beat the odds, it gives me more hope for an optimistic future. I feel so blessed to have these friends in my life. I absolutely know with a certainty that we were meant to cross paths!

We had a wonderful evening and enjoyed fantastic food, great conversation, and bonded over our stories of survival and triumph. It was particularly good for me to be surrounded by such positive energy because the next day I had scans!

Dinner in the backyard

Survivors-Sue, Tina, me, Mike

Emily and I (Mike's wife who is amazing)