FAMILY’S ORDEAL SPURS MISSION
MURWILLUMBAH’S Adam Argus has plenty of reasons to be stepping out in the Melanoma March at Coolangatta with wife Donna.
For starters, he wants to share a long life with his loving family and is praying the lifesaving treatment he is on for melanoma, which spread throughout his body, continues to work miracles.
The Arguses began their journey with the cancer when Mr Argus was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma from a swollen lymph node under his arm at the age of 27, in May 2014.
They were due to be married when Mr Argus was given just three months to live.
He underwent radiation treatment and was given the all clear around the time Mrs Argus fell pregnant with their first child together, but within a week they devastatingly learnt the cancer had spread to his liver, abdomen and chest wall, progressing to stage 4 melanoma.
The family fought for Mr Argus to start Keytruda immunotherapy – an experimental drug – and he was the first patient in the Northern Rivers region to be granted access to it.
“The drug is such a miracle,” Mrs Argus said.
After 13 months on Keytruda, Mr Argus was given a clear diagnosis and went off treatment for 18 months, when he had a recurrence of two brain metastases.
He underwent gamma knife treatment and was fortunate enough to be able to start straight back on the Keytruda.
Now three years into treatment, he tries to live a normal life not thinking about melanoma or treatment.
“Adam tries to forget about melanoma,” Mrs Argus said .
“He’s getting on with his life and doesn’t talk about it but I think about it every single day.
“I have so much fear and anxiety because of what we’ve been through.”
Mr Argus is one of the 20 per cent of melanoma patients in whom the primary cancer is never found.
There was no suspicious mole or spot, just a swollen lymph node they suspected was a result of being tired and rundown.
It is a stark reminder that skin cancer can happen to anyone, not just those who sun bake or are careless in the sun.
Now aged 31, Mr Argus has stared down that original prognosis of having just three to six months and has been able to watch his daughter grow.
He will continue the immunotherapy treatment for several more years while trying to live as normal a life as possible, working and being with Donna to raise their young family.
The family hopes by sharing their melanoma story it will help save more lives.
The Melanoma March at Coolangatta is on Sunday, March 3, starting at The Strand in Marine Pde at 7am Queensland time. Registration opens from 6.30am.
The march follows a 4km loop along the foreshore of Coolangatta Beach, turning at Point Danger.
The Coolangatta march attracts about 300 participants each year and has raised nearly $90,000 for melanoma research over the past four years.
THE (MELANOMA) DRUG (KEYTRUDA) IS SUCH A MIRACLE DONNA ARGUS