Jakob’s Melanoma Journey

Guest blog post by Kelly Chromey, Jakob’s mother:

Jakob loved pizza, pasta, burgers, video games, movies, sports, animals (more than people if I’m being honest) and had a life long love of Super Heros. Jakob was in his 4th year at Georgia State University, studying Film and Media when he was diagnosed with Melanoma at age 21. It presented one evening, alone in his dorm room, as not being able to move his arm, then leg, then a face droop, a CT scan showed a brain bleed. Later that night he would undergo emergency brain surgery and biopsies from his brain and scalp, these showed stage 4 Metastatic Melanoma. After that surgery, I promised him I was going to fight this fight with him every single step of the way and we all assured him he was not alone. After Jakobs brain surgery he went to Shepherd Center for 6 weeks to undergo intense Rehab to regain leg and arm function back as the brain mets left him with left sided hemiparesis. We witnessed many amazing things while he was at Shepherd Center but his strength and resilience were the most amazing of all. There were many times when the therapists would ask him if he wanted to stop or keep going and he would always choose to continue on. Once he had the strength to walk again he was ready to start immunotherapy in March of 2023 every 3 weeks. We were so hopeful and side effects were very minimal. Wednesdays were his infusion days but they were also Comic Book New release day, so on these days we would eat lunch and pick up several new Comic Books. This was truly the highlight of his week since his world was turned upside down and made infusion days a little bit more tolerable. In May of 2024, his routine 3 month CT Scan showed mets to his bone, liver and lungs, we would have to stop immunotherapy but could move onto Targeted Meds. These meds were not kind to his body, he encountered several severe side effects from these meds. December of 2024 he started having random vomiting episodes. After several phone calls and ER visits it was found Jakob had Hydrocephalus, fluid on the brain, and days later, Leptomengeal Disease, a rare and severe complication of advanced Melanoma. Only affecting about 5-8% of Metastatic Melanoma patients we would learn. The cancer had gone to his cerebral spinal fluid and the membranes surrounding his brain. Jakob died January 16th, 2025 while in the hospital fighting an unfair fight at 23 years old. Jakob never believed he was as sick as he was-at least he never shared or showed that with us. So, while Melanoma may have taken our son, it has not taken us and as I promised him in the hospital in January 2023, I am continuing this fight every single step. We will not stop fighting for better early detection guidelines, more awareness and ultimately a Cure. We will continue to use our voice for all of the fighters, the caregivers, the survivors and the dear ones we all have lost and especially for our forever Super Hero, Jakob.