ROBERT BERGER
Robert, my husband was a very healthy and athletic man. He was a good tennis player, an excellent golfer, a fast runner, a great speed skater, inline roller skating, an autocross champion and a musician. He loves to play piano and was a pro drummer for a band when he was in college. He lived such an active and healthy lifestyle. He had no daily prescription medication other than medication for BPH. Robert spent his lifetime to serve public and was a Tuberculosis / Refugee Program Manager and Operation Consultant II at the Health Department in St. Petersburg, Florida. He lived with a very positive outlook in life . His simple dream was to see our son get married and play with grandchildren. Unfortunately, his life and his dream were taken away by melanoma. In 2013, Robert felt pain at his rectum and went to doctors to check out. Nobody knew the reason why he had rectal pain. The only answer they could give to us was hemorrhoid. Pain caused by external and internal hemorrhoid which Robert had and was surgically removed. After seeing several doctors, no one could figure out what was wrong, Robert started to do research and determined to find a different doctor who could find the true answer for his rectal pain. Oct 23, 2013 Robert finally found a GI doctor who was also a professor for medical college at University of South Florida in Tampa. After examining Robert, he took a sample from rectal, sent to pathology lab and told my husband: “Do not go home, please wait for me and the result of pathology. The doctor called to the pathology lab and asked for an urgent result. We waited for an hour, the result: cancer, melanoma. We were shocked! How could melanoma be in the rectum? We faxed the lab result to my brother who is an oncologist, specializing in melanoma at Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City. He went in for testing and scans. Robert had stage 3 melanoma, metastasized to lymph nodes in his groin area. It took 3 hours to clean it in the operating room and a large tumor in the Sigmoid colon was found which pressed on Robert’s rectum causing excruciating pain. Robert lived for 14 months after the diagnosis. Thanks to my brother, he put Robert on Immunotherapy to give him the best quality in his short life. Robert passed away on Dec 5th, 2014. I reviewed my husband’s lifetime of jobs, hobbies, sports, etc. to find out if any one of these activities might be a cause of melanoma. Robert was a caddie since the age of 12 . He also played golf all of his life and loved fishing out of the ocean. Through all of these activities he was exposed to the sun. Robert also had a lot of moles on his back. He visited the dermatologist yearly and more often if he had any concerns on his skin. Why did he get melanoma? As a registered nurse, I should know the facts: if there is a change on existing moles in shape, abnormal growth or pain in a certain area that would not go away, we should insist to test for cancer. I am so grateful for a wonderful 30 years and 4 months with Robert. I lost my wonderful, loving, caring and kind husband to melanoma. My only wish is that there will be an end of this deadly cancer. Education on how to prevent getting melanoma is very important to any generation. I am so glad to have found IMPACT Melanoma to learn more about the disease and lecture what I know about melanoma prevention to save lives.
