In June 2016, Steve Oglesbee was dealing with a cough he couldn’t shake. His wife convinced him to visit their doctor to rule out bronchitis. After that doctor’s visit, followed by a CT scan and more diagnostic testing, Oglesbee was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma — a serious form of skin cancer — that had spread to his lungs and brain.
Oglesbee’s initial treatment included surgery to remove tumors in his brain, along with radiation therapy and immunotherapy infusions. “He had a beautiful response. In fact, a complete response,” says UNC Health oncologist Carrie Lee, MD, MPH, who treated Oglesbee.
In 2019, three years after that initial treatment, tests revealed that cancer had returned in some of the lymph nodes in Oglesbee’s neck. He was discouraged at the prospect of more surgery. But Dr. Lee, who described cancer treatment as something done in stages, helped him face his upcoming treatment, which included three surgeries to remove the cancerous lymph nodes.
“You’ve got to take it one step at a time,” says Oglesbee. “They’re not promising to cure you, but they will give you hope.”
Oglesbee has been cancer-free since 2020.
