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Melanoma Patient Donna Piunt Looks for the Humor in Cancer Treatment

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    My name is Donna Piunt. I am a fun-loving, animated, fifty-some-year-old woman who has been happily married to a wonderful and supportive man for 30 years. We have two beautiful daughters who are in their twenties. I have always had a heart to help people as well as make them laugh.

    After receiving a diagnosis of stage 3B Nodular Malignant Melanoma on November 21, 2011, I decided to start a blog called The Cancer SPOT (via Facebook) to offer support to fellow melanoma warriors. In addition, I hope to raise awareness of the issues surrounding melanoma.

    On December 20, 2011, I underwent surgery at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Surgical oncologist Dr. Jeffrey Farma performed a wide excision and sentinel lymph node mapping on the cancerous mole of my upper left thigh. The pathology report revealed that one of my lymph nodes removed during the sentinel node mapping was cancerous. That meant further treatment was required. I began a one-year course of chemotherapy (Interferon alpha 2b) which concluded on April 1, 2013.

    Although I do not know what my future holds, I am determined to make a difference and live life to the fullest. This includes finding something to laugh at every day. Life can often be challenging enough – but add a diagnosis of cancer, and your life is forever changed. My philosophy is that if we are not laughing, we are angry or crying. I choose to laugh :-)

    “Welcome to the Humor Hospital where laughter is the only medicine administered.”

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    Having cancer and going through chemotherapy can be difficult due to the physical side effects, as well as the emotional affects of cancer. Since I try to look at the humorous side of everything, I started to look at my side effects as if I have entered an amusement park of Interferon Symptoms. These rides cause the same symptoms that some people experience on theme-park rides. Every time I experience vertigo and nausea, I say that I woke up on the tilt-a-whirl ride again that keeps spinning around and around … and no one will let me off and or stop the ride.

    When I experience body aches, fever and fatigue as a result of chemotherapy, I feel like I’m on a bumper truck ride where people are slamming into my truck and making me feel like I was hit by a truck. Just when I think my annual amusement park pass is finished, I wake up on a new ride as a result of a new symptom. I hope to make my fellow cancer sisters and brothers laugh and/or smile while reading my humor blog.

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    I would love to hear from all my cancer relatives, so please leave a comment or idea, and share your story. I love all forms of social networking, such as Facebook, YouTube, youinspire.org, Twitter (@DonnaPiunt) and email. I use social networking to raise awareness of melanoma, as well as to inspire my fellow melanoma survivors to laugh or smile each day.

    Your Cancer Humorist,

    Donna Piunt

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