A Stranger’s Warning May Have Saved His Life

Melanoma, the Importance of Early Detection

                                            As told by: Michael Boire

Written by: Shari Eve Pack

Michael Boire is an incredibly lucky man and he is the first one to admit it! He has learned, and come to appreciate, that people cross paths for a reason, and sometimes, the reason is to save our lives.  In his case, a stranger’s warning changed what could have been a very unfortunate outcome for him and his entire family.  It is this melanoma survivor’s desire that, by sharing his experience, it may encourage people to be proactive about early detection. Here is Michael’s amazing story….

Michael, his wife Michelle and their son, Steven lived in California up until just a couple of years ago, when Michael retired from an executive position at the DWP. The Boire family decided they were ready for a change and built a beautiful home near Dallas, Texas.  Michael has always been in relatively good health. Although he is a diabetic, he has maintained his health through a proper diet, exercise and regular check ups with his doctor.

In 2006, Michael was making the final preparations to complete his move to Texas and join his family in their new home. He thought it would be a good idea to undergo a complete physical with his regular doctor before he left California. His doctor conducted an exam and sent Michael on his way with a clean bill of health.

About a month after his arrival in Texas, Michael made an appointment to meet his new health provider. Even though it had only been about a month, the new doctor decided to perform another physical exam. The doctor found all of his tests within normal limits and did not detect anything out of the ordinary. In defense of these doctors, it isn’t always customary to spot check for cancerous growths.

The stresses of the hectic move and acclimating to an entirely new environment were quickly catching up to Michael. His wife decided that it would be a nice gesture to treat Michael to a facial and made the appointment. While this procedure may not be the first thing on a man’s, “things that relax me, list”, this was something that Michelle knew he would love to experience.

The facial was just what he needed to relax and he found himself enjoying every minute of the procedure. The esthician stopped during the session and pointed out three small dark spots on his right arm in the area of a vaccination scar. Michael took a look and explained that they were probably just age spots. He was noticing that as he grew closer to the age of sixty, there were all sorts of strange designs ending up on his body. Michael made light of the situation and wasn’t too concerned about these three mysterious spots. After all, he just had two complete physical exams by different doctors, neither of which, discovered anything unusual.

The esthetician insisted that these spots were not normal and that Michael should seek medical attention as soon as possible. He promised to make an appointment and being a man of his word, he went back to the doctor. The doctor told Michael that he didn’t know what the spots were and sent him on to a dermatologist. Michael left his office not feeling concerned over the matter.

The dermatologist inspected the spots on Michael’s arm and admitted he had never seen anything like them. The doctor took a biopsy and photographed the area. Two days later, the results of the biopsy came in and Michael received a not so pleasant call from the dermatologist. He explained that the test came back positive for melanoma and it needed to be removed immediately.

Since Michael was dealing with something very unfamiliar and now had the motivation to find out more, he began his quest for information on melanoma via the internet. Quickly, he found out that melanoma can be fatal if not detected at an early stage. It was at that point, Michael became aware of the seriousness of his situation. He returned to the doctor’s office for the removal, and thirty plus stitches later, he left with a rather large chunk of his right arm missing.

Out of curiosity, Michael asked his doctor what would have happened if the cancer hadn’t been discovered for several more months. The answer was that a more intricate surgery would have been preformed under general anesthesia; perhaps an amputation. In addition, he would have required a massive dose of chemotherapy. The worse case scenario is that he could have died from the disease which has already claimed thousands of lives.

Michael’s research into this deadly disease made him realize that the process actually began when he was exposed to the sun on a regular basis as a child. Melanoma can take many years to show any sign on the body. The fact of the matter is that people are more aware now of the dangers from exposure to the sun and do take precautions. The problem is that we are not taking into consideration the effects of the sun from our earlier years and conducting regular checks on our bodies.

This is certainly a case of divine intervention in Michael’s opinion. There was a chain of events which lead him to this particular esthetician. She cared enough to insist on further exploration of these spots, and this lead to a better outcome for Michael and his family. Michael knew that this stranger was responsible for possibly saving his life or, at the very least, saving him from losing his major arm and undergoing a traumatic treatment course.

After this frightening experience, Michael returned to the esthetician’s place of employment. He explained to her boss what took place and how she basically saved his life, and his family from a painful future. Since she wasn’t at work that day, he left a substantial amount of money in an envelope with a sincere thank you. He returned a couple of days later to thank her in person.

It has been nearly two years since Michael’s melanoma was discovered and treated. The seven inch scar on his right arm is a reminder to check for unusual skin growths. In addition to his self examinations, he has his doctor check every few months for any new growths.

Michael and his family have developed a strong bond with this person who was just once, a caring stranger. She is now considered part of the family and in many ways, all of their lives have been blessed from knowing one another.

Many more people can have a similar, positive outcome by simply becoming more proactive in the early detection of these cancerous growths. The survival percentages are not good when detected at a later stage.

Thousands of cases of melanoma are reported each year and a significant percentage end up in death. To learn more about the symptoms, prevention and treatment of melanoma, please consult with your doctor and go onto the National Cancer Institute’s website.