Those diagnosed with mucosal melanoma, comprise about one percent of all melanoma diagnoses.  For Chris White of Dallas, Texas, his journey began when he noticed a lump on his rectum.  He thought it might be a pimple or a hemorrhoid, and didn’t think to do anything about it.  An active snowboarder, Chris was on a chairlift when he felt an increased level of discomfort.  Then he noticed an additional lump on his inner right groin, also a source of pain.  When it continued to grow, he decided it was time to seek medical attention.

 

In May 2018, Chris went to his general physician who put him on an antibiotic, a ten-day regimen.  When that didn’t work, the doctor prescribed a second antibiotic, which also did no good.  The doctor then sent Chris to a general surgeon who originally thought Chris had a femoral hernia and scheduled surgery for July.  When Chris woke up, he was told the procedure revealed not a hemorrhoid, but a lymph node.  The doctor said it looked like cancer, but he would have to first see the lab results.  The next day, Chris got the phone call he dreaded.

 

Stunned by this bad news, Chris White was told he needed to see a specialist.  In Dallas, he decided to go to relatively-nearby Houston and world-renowned MD Anderson.  Their initial option was immunotherapy, a form of targeted therapy, administered via IV.  It is designed to use one’s immune system to attack the cancer.  The specialist said the cancer’s staging had to be identified before a treatment plan could be devised.  They started with a PET scan, then moved on to lymph node dissection surgery.  He was put on anesthesia and dye was shot through his lymphatic system to determine the location of the cancer.  They pulled lymph nodes out of his right and left groin and melanoma was also found in his rectum. 

 

Chris had heard the word metastatic attached to his cancer, which was daunting.  Further tests indicated his cancer had metastasized from Stage 3C to Stage 4 in his lungs and around his lymphatic system. 

 

Going forward, Chris White’s treatment took place in both Dallas and Houston.  The immunotherapy in Dallas, while scans and surgery and radiation took place at MD Anderson.  This regimen left Chris in a great deal of pain.  He ended up taking the maximum daily amount of hydrocodone he could take. Recent clinical trials of TIL therapy showed it could shrink tumors in patients with advanced melanoma, which Chris to be part of.  However, before Chris could go on TIL therapy, he learned the cancer had spread to his brain, and as a result, he cold not qualify for the needed TIL.  Doctors were able to stabilize the brain metastasis, and insurance paperwork.

 

Chris flew to Colorado in January 2020, went on a week of chemotherapy depletion, then got his TIL therapy.  He had his first followup scan six weeks later, and it showed the TIL therapy was working.  Throughout 2020, Chris periodically returned to Colorado for additional scans, and nine months after the TIL procedure, it showed a complete metabolic response.  Then on January 3, 2021, a PET scan confirmed a 100 percent metabolic response, and Chris says that since then he has been scan-free.

 

Chris says physically he can do all the things he did prior to his diagnosis, including his beloved snowboarding.

Additional Resources:

 

Chris’ website: https://www.mucosalmelanomasurvivor.com

 

Chris’ book: Killing Cancer With TILs