Patient Stories

Guest blog post by Jim Mills, CURE OM community member and ocular melanoma caregiver:

My name is Jim Mills, I am the husband and caregiver to my late wonderful and beautiful wife Leeanne Michelle Mills. My wife (my honey) and I were friends for 38 years and married for 30 years. 

Guest blog post by CURE OM community member Joseph Boyle:

Guest blog post by MRF Board of Directors member, Doug Brodman:

Guest blog post by OM survivor and advocate, Ashley McCrary:

Guest blog post by CURE OM advocate, Carrie Rubin:

“Cancer.”

Guest blog post by Chrissy Sorrells.

In October of 2012, my little sister, Nikki, was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic melanoma and our lives were forever changed. This is her story:

My Melanoma Experience
By David H. Marx

• ADVOCATE
• THE PERFECT NIGHT
• MY MELANOMA STORY BEGINS
• JOURNEY
• DIAGNOSIS
• GAME PLAN
• HOMEWORK: UNDERSTAND YOUR DIAGNOSIS
• ATTITUDE and POWERFUL EMOTIONS
• SURGERY
• TREATMENT
• AWARENESS
• COURAGE
• ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

Most of us have had our struggles attempting to navigate the world of medicine. From working to make sure you meet with the right doctor to trying to understand the information given to you at an appointment, the healthcare system can be an overwhelming journey. This journey can be something simple, but for my younger brother, Steven Michael Bienz, the medical network became his second home and navigating this world was a fight for his life.

I first heard about the CURE OM Symposium via Facebook and wanted to attend. However, in the past the timing just didn’t gel with my work schedule. To my delight, this year’s meeting fell at a time that I was able to take off of work to attend.