OHSU doctors launch 'War on Melanoma' campaign

Mindi Helmandollar-Armatas is a dog mommy, cheerleading coach, CrossFit athlete and coach, educator, and she is also going for her doctorate in education.With a positive attitude, she does it all — while battling cancer.

"Every day's a new day,” said the 33-year-old. "I just keep trucking along, I think like anybody else does."

This is Helmandollar-Armatan’s second round with skin cancer. Her first melanoma diagnosis was more than a decade ago, when she was just 22. She used to apply sunscreen, but not enough. And the life-long cheerleader visited tanning booths.

"I didn't know... this is how this all happened. If someone would have told me!” she said.

Doctors removed the cancer and her lymph nodes, and Helmandollar-Armatashad years of clear scans. She got married, launched her career. Then, in 2017, the melanoma came back.

"I had, you know, Stage 4 and it was in my lungs,” said Helmandollar-Armatas, who was diagnosed in January 2018. She now takes 12 chemotherapy pills a day.

"I had a clear scan recently and they're doing their job and I'm able to do my daily things.”

For people like Helmandollar-Armatas and others, doctors at OHSU are going to war with melanoma and other types of skin cancer.

"For a place that's not as sunny as California or Hawaii, our skin cancer rates are almost as high, and for melanoma, we actually have one of the highest incidences of melanoma in the entire U.S.,” said Dr. Anna Bar, an OHSU dermatologist.

Bar says check yourself regularly and have others look at your skin using the ABCDEs as your guide for reasons to see a dermatologist:

Asymmetry — If one half doesn't look like the other.

Borders — watch for unclear or fuzzy borders.

Color — if there's different hues within the same mole.

Diameter — if it’s the size of a pencil eraser or more.

and Evolution — if it’s changing.

"Early detection is the key for melanoma,” Bar said. “When you catch a melanoma in an early stage, there's 98, 99, 100 percent survival.

That’s why doctors at OHSU have launched their “War on Melanoma” campaign — after all, it’s cancer you can actually see.

"It's one of the most preventable cancers," Helmandollar-Armatas said. “It’s like, ‘oh man, if only I would have known.’”

But now Helmandollar-Armatas does know, and talks to people about her battle, adding skin cancer prevention advocate to her already impressive list of accomplishments.

"Overall, I think it's just finding those positive moments in every day that makes the greatest difference,” Helmandollar-Armatas said with a smile.

Saturday, Helmandollar-Armatas will be honored at the PDX Skincare Festival, part of the "War in Melanoma." There’s a 5K walk, free skincare services and even free skin cancer screenings if you pre-register. It all starts at 9 a.m. at OHSU's south waterfront campus near the Tillikum bridge.