By Peggy O'Farrell
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Mary Veid-Weidle now spends time with her 7-week-old grandson. (Tony Jones photos) | ZOOM |

Neither Claudia Kohlman nor Mary Veid-Weidle thought much about the moles they found, Kohlman's on her left calf in 1996, Veid-Weidle's on her back in 1997.

Both moles were about the size of an eraser head.

Both were melanoma - the rarest and deadliest form of skin cancer.

The similarity ends there: Kohlman, 37, of Terrace Park is cancer-free and expecting her first child in June.

Veid-Weidle, 51 of Middletown, learned in December that she had six months to a year to live. Her cancer returned last year. She is enrolled in a clinical trial to test a new vaccine in the hope it will stimulate her immune system enough to kill the cancer.

Claudia Kohlman limits her sun exposure now. | ZOOM |

It's a last-ditch effort, Veid-Weidle knows, but conventional treatments haven't worked and, with a brand-new grandson, she's willing to try anything.

"I guess you could say I'm doomed, but at this point, I am not defeated," she says.

Melanoma increasingly common

Veid-Weidle, light-skinned with what she calls "dirty blond" hair, faced a double-whammy: Her father died of melanoma, which increased her risk of eventually developing the disease.

And she's a reformed sun worshiper. Growing up on her parents' farm in Colorado, "I was constantly outside doing chores. We cut wheat constantly. And once I moved to the city, I became the tanning bed goddess of the year. If the tanning bed wasn't enough, I'd go lay out in the sun."

Kohlman didn't tan, but she spent much of her youth outside, playing tennis or swimming. If she got burned, her mother made her put on a T-shirt.

Now Kohlman slathers sunscreen on her naturally "ghostly white skin" and covers her dark hair with a hat or scarf when she's outdoors for more than a few minutes. She tries to stay in the shade during peak tanning hours.

"I'm a fanatic about it. It upsets me when I see anybody with a sunburn because of what I went through, and I know I'm oh-so-lucky," Kohlman says.

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PROTECT YOURSELF

Try these tips from the American Cancer Society to reduce your risks of melanoma and other skin cancers: Make sure children are especially well-protected against sunburn. People who suffer severe, blistering sunburns as children or teens are more at risk for melanoma. Avoid being in the sun too long, especially in the middle of the day when ultraviolet light is most intense. Shield the skin with clothing, including long sleeves when practical and a broad-brimmed hat. Use sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher. Use at least a palmful, and reapply every two hours, even on cloudy or hazy days. Wear sunglasses. Wrap-around styles with 99 to 100 percent UV absorption give the best protection. Ask your doctor to check suspicious or new moles and have them removed, if necessary. Avoid manmade sources of UV light, such as tanning beds.

As did Veid-Weidle's, Kohlman's melanoma returned. In 1998, the cancer was found in lymph nodes in her left groin. She underwent surgery and enrolled in an experimental treatment stud, and she has beaten the disease.

More than 7,000 Americans die every year from melanoma, the rarest and deadliest form of skin cancer. An estimated 54,200 Americans will be diagnosed with invasive melanoma this year, according to the American Cancer Society. In 2002, that number was 53,000. Melanoma cases have been on the increase since the 1970s.

Several factors are blamed: A thinner ozone layer means people are exposed to stronger ultraviolet rays.

Tanning, both outdoors and in tanning beds, remains popular. The population is aging, increasing the overall risk for developing melanoma.

And doctors and consumers are catching more cases, says Dr. Jeffrey Sussman, a clinical oncologist at the University of Cincinnati's Barrett Cancer Center. "There's a much greater awareness of the disease," Sussman says.

Sun damage starts early

Experts now know that sun exposure in childhood and the teen years causes many skin cancers, but tanning as an adult doesn't help.

Now when Veid-Weidle takes her youngest grandson, 8-week-old Evan, outside, she makes sure he's protected from the sun.

"You've got to start protecting yourself really young," she says.

More adults need to learn that lesson, says Dr. Marty Visscher, director of the Skin Sciences Institute at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Special photographs taken with ultraviolet light show how much sun damage skin has sustained, and it's surprising how early the damage is apparent. "If you put a 4-year-old in there, you'll see the damage," Visscher says.

But it's hard to explain to a high school student that their weekly trip to the tanning booth could result in deadly cancer when they're in their 40s or 50s.

"People believe, and this is particularly true with teenagers, that having their skin tanned is healthy-looking and attractive. We battle that nonstop," Visscher says. "The problem is the damage doesn't show up for so long. They get damage today and it may not show up for 30 years, maybe. It makes it difficult to reinforce the sun safety message."

Melanoma is at the extreme end of sun damage. Squamous and basal cell skin cancers are much more common and rarely fatal.

The most common consequences of sun damage are wrinkles and discolored spots on the skin.

"Look at a person who's 90 and who's been sheltered from the sun their whole life, and you'll see a huge difference. You begin to see how much of aging is really the wrinkles and lines and texture that go with over-and-over-and-over-again sun exposure," Visscher says.

Early discovery saves lives

Preventing melanoma in the first place is the best treatment, Sussman says. Since that's not always possible, surgery is the most common weapon.

If melanoma is found early enough, removing the tumor and any affected lymph nodes usually does the trick.

But the cancer spreads quickly and is hard to spot. By the time Veid-Weidle knew her melanoma had returned, lesions were found on her collarbone and thigh, left lung, left arm and lower spine.

Chemotherapy and radiation don't have very high success rates for most melanomas, Sussman says.

Interferon, which jump-starts the immune system to prompt the body to kill cancerous cells, is the standard treatment for melanoma that has spread.

Veid-Weidle is enrolled in a clinical trial at Ohio State University's Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Research Institute on a new vaccine to treat melanoma. Called bevacizumab, it works by neutralizing a chemical compound that helps cancerous tumors grow blood vessels, which in turn help tumors continue to grow.

Veid-Weidle is hopeful about the vaccine. She's had few problems with side effects, and Dr. William Carson, the researcher overseeing the study, says the vaccine has shrunk some of her tumors, a sign he calls "encouraging."

And life goes on. She and her husband, Tim, spend as much time as they can with their three children and eight grandchildren.

And Veid-Weidle volunteers as much as she can for the American Cancer Society, helping out in the office and at events like the Relay for Life.

"I look at this as God giving me a big kick in the butt," she says. "When I was first diagnosed in 1997, I said, 'This is it; I'm going to get out there and be active.' Now I've had the really big kick and I'm doing it."