Amie Shadle Melanoma Patient Story

When Amie Shadle learned that her melanoma had come back — and spread — the news hit her hard.

However, she knew where she wanted to turn to: the same UPMC Hillman Cancer Center team who treated her initially.

Even though it meant traveling more than two hours by car from her home in central Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh, Amie was willing to do it. She knew she could go to her local UPMC Hillman Cancer Center for treatment, but Amie felt so comfortable with her doctor and the rest of her care team that she made the trip.

“I have felt so comfortable with my care team," says Amie, 43, of Clearfield County, Pa. "They’ve shown nothing but love and support. They truly care about me as a patient and a person. I know about their lives too. It’s just been a great support to have."

After getting her diagnosis of stage IV recurrent metastatic melanoma in December 2023, Amie began immunotherapy treatment in April 2024. Side effects caused her team to stop treatment, but it had done its job: A year later, she is free of cancer.

She says she never doubted her decision to go to UPMC Hillman.

"Why wouldn't I go somewhere where I feel that comfortable and secure, and I have all the confidence in my care team and the plan to keep me cancer-free?" she says.

A 'Heartbreaking' Diagnosis

Amie's cancer journey began in late 2019.

As a first-grade teacher, Amie wears a lanyard for work. She had a mole on her neck that she thought was being irritated by the lanyard, so she visited her dermatologist.

She had a skin biopsy taken, and it came back with the diagnosis of stage 1B melanoma. She learned that she had cancer just before her school's winter break.

"I think any time you hear that word (cancer), your stomach just drops, and everything just pauses," Amie says. "It's like the world stops for a minute while you process that word."

The diagnosis brought back memories of her father, who died from a brain tumor when Amie was a teenager.

"I had to think, 'OK, now this is going to be my reality,'" Amie says. "It was completely different in a way, but it's still cancer. That really was just heartbreaking."

Amie was referred to medical oncologist Yana Najjar, MD, at UPMC Hillman in Pittsburgh. Because her cancer was stage 1B, she had a good prognosis and was a candidate for surgery.

UPMC Hillman surgical oncologist James Pingpank, MD, removed the cancer in early January 2020. He also removed nearby lymph nodes, which came back clear.

"I pretty much thought I was good to go," Amie says.

A Cancer Recurrence

For the next few years, Amie stuck to all of her recommended follow-up treatments. She had skin checks done every three months and blood work and chest x-rays taken every six months.

Everything was clear until December 2023, when her care team saw something on a routine chest x-ray. Further imaging showed that the cancer had spread to one of her lung nodules, along with a spot in her hip and a spot in her chest wall.

The news that the cancer had returned came as a surprise to Amie.

"In my mind, I thought, 'OK, I got through with that,' and was done with it, until it actually ended up rearing its ugly head again," she says.

Because it had spread to multiple locations, Amie's cancer was now considered stage IV metastatic melanoma.

"That was kind of crushing to me," she says.

Getting Treatment

When she learned her cancer had returned, Amie decided she wanted to go to Pittsburgh for treatment — even though she lived about two and a half hours away.

"I was really comfortable with Dr. Najjar from round one, so I just thought, 'I want to go back to Pittsburgh and continue my treatment there,'" she says.

Because of the location of the cancer in her chest, surgery was too risky for Amie. Instead, she would begin treatment with dual immunotherapy at a high dose.

"I remember my first meeting with her, I had this three- or four-page printout of all my questions," Amie says.

"She went through everything with me. She was so great, personable, and compassionate. She knew how I was feeling and did a great job of laying it out."

Amie began her immunotherapy treatment in early April 2024. The first round went well, although she felt some fatigue and had a skin rash afterward.

Because she's around germs a lot through her job, Amie says she felt sick when she went for her second immunotherapy treatment. She had a chest x-ray taken while she was there, which came back with a diagnosis of pneumonia.

Amie got her second round of immunotherapy and also began treatment for pneumonia.

"I was doing OK for a couple of days, and I just had this cough that would not quit," she says. "I tried literally every over-the-counter medication possible, and nothing worked."

Amie went to her nearby emergency department for a chest x-ray and breathing treatment. She ultimately returned to Pittsburgh, where she was admitted to UPMC Shadyside. She says her cancer care team checked in on her and made sure she was OK.

"My whole care team was amazing," she says.

Doctors were concerned she had pneumonitis, an inflammation of lung tissue, so Dr. Najjar held off on Amie's third round of immunotherapy treatment. When Amie's next scans came back clear of cancer, Dr. Najjar decided to end the treatment.

"Because there wasn't anything there, they didn't feel the need to keep going," she says. "Especially if it was pneumonitis, they didn't want it to get worse."

Thankful for Care

A year after her treatment ended, Amie is still clear of cancer. Her follow-up treatment includes an appointment with Dr. Najjar every three months. She gets blood work, skin checks, and a positron emission tomography (PET) scan every three months, and a brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan every six months.

She says that throughout her cancer journey, she felt incredible support from her family, friends, and her church community. She leaned heavily on her faith during her treatment.

"I think it’s all about a good mindset, keeping a positive outlook, and having a crucial support group who can really help you through the process," Amie says. "I have felt carried by the prayers and the love of all the people around me."

That support extends to her UPMC Hillman care team. Amie says she appreciates the level of care she received from her entire team.

"They know who I am, even in a sea of people," she says. "I'm sure they treat many more patients than me, but it's always been a very personable experience with the doctors, the physician assistants, the nurses, and my whole care team."

Amie’s treatment and results may not be representative of all similar cases.