Popular Tennis Pro Using Competitive Streak To Battle Melanoma
In the fall of last year, popular tennis pro and native islander Lindsay Ames found a couple of lumps in her thigh that in her words, “felt like frozen peas.” A PET scan later revealed several other lumps on the same side of her body, insidious signs that the melanoma she fought in 2009 had spread to the lower half of her body.
The unfathomable diagnosis: Stage IV Metastatic Malignant Melanoma. The good news: They caught it early. The cancer- ous cells didn’t collect in any of her organs.
But at 42 years old, Ames geared up for the match of her life
— beating a fast-footed, wily opponent who doesn’t give a damn. Equipped with the mental and physical stamina netted from years of playing competitive tennis, her new target became to crush mela- noma and to make other people aware.
Melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, starts in the melanocytes, the cells that produce skin pigment. Only 2 to 5 percent of skin can- cers are melanomas, according the American Cancer Society (ACS).
Five years ago, a dermatologist first diagnosed Ames with Stage II of the disease after biopsying a black mole on her back. Typical fea- tures of skin tumors may include irregular borders, black or multiple colors, rapid growth and susceptibility to bleeding. (more…)
