‘It's like being tied to the tracks, not knowing when the train is coming,' says mum after ‘back pain' turned deadly
'It's like being tied to the train tracks,' the now 42-year-old from Idaho, US, recalled of the day of her prognosis.
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'I just don't know when the train is coming.'
It was 2020 when the mum first felt the crippling back pain that quickly robbed her of the ability to walk.
Despite repeatedly being told it was just normal aches and pains, Elisa, an award-winning author, knew something wasn't right.
'I'd had four of my five kids without pain meds. I know what pain feels like,' she said. 'This was different.'
When her leg muscles started to visibly atrophy, a specialist finally ordered an X-ray.
It revealed a large tumour that had completely eaten away one her her vertebra, one of the small bones that make up the spinal column.
The growth was also pressing into her spinal cord.
Further scans revealed Elisa had tumours in every single vertebra in her spine and two more in her brain.
She was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma, the most advanced and aggressive form of skin cancer.
The disease is often caused by too much sun exposure, according to the NHS.
Alarming time-lapse video reveals how tiny 'dark patch' morphs into melanoma
The first sign is usually a new mole, or a change in the appearance of an existing one.
It being stage 4 means the disease has spread beyond the skin and to other parts of the body.
The mum was given just two years to live.
Her horror ordeal began back in 2018, when she first noticed a seemingly harmless dark mole on her left wrist.
'[The mole] was honestly the most beautiful colour of purple I'd ever seen,' she said.
'But my mum was so concerned, she couldn't stop talking about it.'
'It was a big deal'
Eventually, after the mole began to bleed she went to get it checked.
The dermatologist wasn't overly concerned but removed it as a precaution.
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Shockingly, a biopsy confirmed it was stage 2 melanoma, meaning the cancer was still confined to the skin, with no signs it had spread elsewhere.
But because her wrists were so small, doctors had to take more than just the skin.
Muscle and even some bone were removed to ensure as much of the disease was removed as possible.
'The scar is pretty intense,' she said.
'It was a big deal, but they thought they got it all.'
A lymph node was taken from under her arm, and Elisa was declared cancer-free.
Melanoma can spread to other parts of the body, a process called metastasis.
This occurs when cancer cells break away from the original tumor and travel through the bloodstream or lymphatic system to form new tumors elsewhere.
Common sites for melanoma to spread include lymph nodes, lungs, liver, bones, and brain.
'Buried alive'
Once Elisa discovered her cancer had spread, she underwent gruelling radiation treatments in the hope it could buy her more time.
One of these treatments involved being strapped to a table with her head screwed into place under a custom-fitted mask.
The process, designed to keep her perfectly still while they targeted tumours in her brain, was so terrifying Elisa says it felt like being 'buried alive.'
'I get claustrophobic,' she explained.
'They suck the air out of this full-body vacuum bag, put a mouthpiece in, and cover you with a blanket.
"You can't move. You're just stuck there for 45 minutes. It's one of the scariest things I've ever experienced.'
Just as Elisa was starting to feel hopeful again, she was struck with the news that a new tumour had appeared.
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Her doctors have warned that if the upcoming radiation doesn't work, she could have as little as three to six months left.
Despite her devastating diagnosis, Elisa has ticked off bucket-list dreams like skydiving, visiting Italy, and even singing the national anthem at a semi-pro baseball game.
'Tomorrow isn't promised'
She's also poured her heart into a blog, The Crazy Life of a Writing Mom, sharing the rollercoaster of emotions that come with living with a terminal diagnosis.
"I decided to write scheduled posts, years into the future, so my kids would still hear from me after I'm gone,' she said. 'They're like love letters that will outlive me.'
Even now, as she deals with new pain, insurance delays, and an MRI scheduled a week away in Utah, Elisa is finding joy in the small things.
This includes listening to audiobooks with her daughter Indy, modelling for cancer awareness campaigns, and making TikToks which have garnered millions of likes from her hospital bed.
'I've learned to live in the moment,' she said. 'Tomorrow isn't promised.
"Not just life, but your ability to speak, to move, to hug your kids. And that's something I don't take for granted anymore.'
Can you spot the cancerous moles from the harmless ones?
IF you've spotted a new mole or lingering mark on your skin, don't be too quick to dismiss it.
It's important to know what your skin looks like normally, to helps you notice any unusual changes.
The ABCDE rule can be followed to assess the health of a mole.
If your mole falls into the following, it's worth getting checked:
A symmetrical – melanomas usually have two very different halves and are an irregular shape
B order – melanomas usually have a notched or ragged border
C olours – melanomas will usually be a mix of two or more colours
D iameter – most melanomas are usually larger than 6mm in diameter
E nlargement or e levation – a mole that changes size over time is more likely to be a melanoma
Most melanomas don't give you symptoms like pain or itching.
Meanwhile, some non-cancerous moles or abnormal patches of skin can be itchy.
So having some of these changes on their own doesn't mean you definitely have melanoma, but you should still get it checked out.
There are two main types of skin cancer - non melanoma skin cancer and melanoma skin cancer.
Non-melanoma skin cancer includes:
Basal cell skin cancer - this is also called basal cell carcinoma
Squamous cell skin cancer - this is also called squamous cell carcinoma
There are a few different types of melanoma too:
Superficial spreading melanoma
Nodular melanoma
Lentigo maligna melanoma
Find out more about distinguishing moles here.
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