Pediatric Patient SPOTlight: Sophie Ogden

Guest blog post by Pediatric Melanoma Patient, Sophie Ogden:

“Hi, my name is Sophie Ogden, and I am 16 years old from Jessup, Georgia. It’s such an honor to be able to share my journey with melanoma.

When I was 15 years old, I had a tiny mole on the back of my left knee. Little did I know that that tiny mole would be the root of a lot of problems down the road. The mole was itchy and changing colors and hurting, so my mom took me to a dermatologist. My dermatologist took the mole off and sent it off for testing. A month or so later, she called us and told us that I have melanoma. I took nursing classes in school, so I knew a little about melanoma and I knew that it wasn’t common in someone as young as myself. I knew it was not good news.

I was sent to Savannah, GA to have the remaining cancer removed from my leg. After surgery, the stitches came open and my leg looked like I was attacked by a shark. I saw about 500 doctors in Savannah before I was sent to Nemours and met Dr. Joyce. Dr. Joyce sent us to the May Clinic to see Dr. Dranka and she explained to us how melanoma worked, and the choice of treatment. She explained that this could cut the chance of my cancer coming back in half. We didn’t know how to proceed until we got the results of my first PET scan back and I had cancerous activity in three of my lymph nodes. At this point, I had to go through treatment.

I was scared of what the treatment would do to me, but Dr. Dranka assured me that I was going to be okay. After I had settled down and got through my treatments, I was referred to Dr. Jakub. He took out each of the cancerous lymph nodes, even the ones that were difficult to get to.

One of the biggest things that I have learned from my journey with melanoma is that melanoma can happen to anyone at any age. Melanoma is preventable, so wear your sunscreen! The impact that the Mayo clinic and their doctors have had on my journey will never go unnoticed. There is no doubt in my mind that a cure will be found one day, so join me in spreading melanoma awareness.”