Today we want to introduce you to this handsome young warrior named Cody: Codys Fight and Journey Against Melanoma Cody Frick lives in Orange Beach Alabama,he has two sisters and a younger brother. When Cody is not in school (freshman in high school),you can find him hunting(Bow) for deer,duck, turkey or pretty much anything he can hunt.Cody also loves to fish,and has been a deckhand on a boat in the past,his teachers say that if Cody was in the woods, or water learning that he would do fantastic. Cody had a mole on his lower back (right side) for about 8 years or so(it looked like a pimple) ,and in July of 2013 he was coming out of the bathroom with his shirt off,when his sister Cheyenne yelled for mom to come and look at it,somehow the mole had gotten irritated,it was red,larger,and oozing ,it basically just did not look right. Kerry Glynn Begnaud is Cody’s mom at this point called Ron Frick (Cody’s dad) and expressed concern,due to the fact that Ron had Melanoma on his ear when he was 25 years old,and gets checked out every year with a dermatologist.Ron immediately booked an appointment for Cody to see his doctor,however his doctor was not really concerned..The doctor decided to shave the mole off,so it did not bother Cody any longer,but didnt seem to give any indication that it was anything to be worried about,yet for precautionary reasons still sent to pathology. In August 2013 the results came back,and Cody was diagnosed with Stage 3 Melanoma ,and because of the depth (3.7) there was a real concern,so he was referred to a local surgeon and Oncologist. The family was all in a state of shock,and totally scared but knew they had to remain strong for their son.Cody had a nature of worrying sometimes,so his parents thought it would be best not to tell him until the day of his app. Ron was taking Cody that day to the doctor,and Kerry was meeting them there,once they were all together the surgeon told them that the next step would be scans,to see if it had spread,and then to meet with an oncologist. Next was the appointment with the Pediatric Oncologist for scans,all of this was so overwhelming for Cody’s parents,however even though they are no longer married they are fantastic Co parents ,and were equally there to support their child during this scary time. This first appointment with the oncologist was very scary,but she was wonderful and very knowledgeable as to what direction would be best to take,and this brought a little peace to Ron and Kerry.The oncologist told them that with the depth of Cody’s mole,and the rarity of Pediatric Melanoma ,if it were her child she would go straight to MD Anderson,and that was all they needed to hear,so off to the next set of appointments,which never got any easier. After having to endure lost labs,appointment changes,and lots of waiting ,they finally got into Cody’s doctor at MD Anderson. Cody, his mom and dad took the drive together for the first set of appointments,having to stay two nights,which again was beyond overwhelming,but were very thankful for all of the wonderful and encouraging doctors. Cody had a complete skin check by the oncologist,and was reminded that with his red hair,and light eyes,that he would have to be very diligent about taking care of his skin,and doing monthly skin checks for the REST OF HIS LIFE!!! Next they met with the surgeon who was great as well,and sent Cody to do a dye scan,in order to see what lymph nodes his tumor was draining into,then back home to wait for results. The doctors called to tell them that there was confusion because the dye went straight to his right groin area,as well as his left which was rare,and warranted them to need more opinions from other doctors,but finally was sent off for surgery. Cody had a very large mass removed from his back,4 lymph nodes removed from his right side,and 2 from his left, as well as a drain put in.They were able to return home fairly quickly,and come back in a few weeks to have his drain removed,as well as go over the results,so more waiting begins. The results finally came in,and ALL LYMPH NODES WERE CLEAR!!!!!! This was such Amazing news considering the fact that Cody’s tumor was 6.5 deep,and 3.2 wide (HUGE) .Currently Cody does not need to be on treatment,however had to go back every 3 months for labs and x rays,as well as skin checks.Cody is now considered Stage 2 c and after the the whole family underwent genetic testing,it was determined that his Melanoma was genetic,and his doctor basically said that he has a 100% chance of getting another Melanoma ,but wants to make sure to catch it the next time,before it gets so big. www3.mdanderson.org/streams/FullVideoPlayer.cfm?xml=cfg%2FPedi-Melanoma-2014 ** Two side notes** The local dermatologist did not want to even check Cody’s mole out,it was only because of his parents persistence that it was removed. MD Anderson informed Cody’s parents that, ALL moles with concern should be punched out, never shaved because the cancer could spread (this was something they were completely unaware of ) (Chip Begnaud )
Posted on: Tue, 13 May 2014 14:15:13 +0000