Student Cancer Survivor Will Share His Experience at Relay For Life at UC

Andrew Kreger, a third year mechanical engineering major from Dayton, Ohio, is also a third year participant at

Relay For Life at UC.

This spring, he’ll be spending a second year participating in the opening Survivor Lap at the Relay.

The 18-hour event to raise money for education, advocacy and research programs for the American Cancer Society gets underway at 6 p.m., Friday, April 4, on McMicken Commons.

It’s the largest student-organized community service event on UC’s campus.

Kreger says that at 21 years old, and with his health-conscious lifestyle, the Centerville High School graduate never would have imagined that he would be diagnosed with cancer at his age. As a survivor of melanoma skin cancer, he says this journey has made him value life that much more, as well as the health that he has.

Kreger recalls seeing something that looked like a wart pop up on his ankle during the winter of his freshman year at UC. He says when he first noticed the growth, he was a cadet-in-training as a member of the UC Air Force ROTC Program. “I wasn’t worrying about it. I was using wart remover on it, but it wouldn’t go away. By the end of that summer and gearing up for co-op, I decided that it might be a good idea to get it looked at.”

The diagnosis, melanoma, was a shock. The surgery – centered on the thin skin covering his ankle – was deep, intensive and painful. In addition to the cancer removal, repairing the damage involved laying skin grafts over shark and bovine cartilage. Kreger says he was only a month into his first co-op rotation at General Electric in Cincinnati, but his recovery would largely force him off his feet. “My boss at GE was very understanding and they worked out a way for me to telecommute from home while I went through the skin grafts.”

Kreger says he was still going through physical therapy when he was back at UC and taking classes the following spring. The diagnosis also forced him out of the Air Force ROTC Program, although he remains involved in the Silver Wings, a civilian service organization dedicated to the support and advocacy of the Air Force.

In fact, before he was diagnosed with cancer his freshman year, he participated in Relay For Life at UC in 2012 with the Arnold Air Society, the Air Force ROTC professional honorary society. The following spring, he was at Relay For Life, describing his battle with melanoma. “I saw a 13-year-old boy who talked about having leukemia when he was younger. In fact, I saw a lot of people who took part in the Relay but weren’t directly connected to UC. I was impressed that UC’s Relay has that kind of outreach,” says Kreger.

“I’ve realized that even if you’re young and in good shape, it doesn’t necessarily benefit your recovery from cancer. It’s just as serious as if you’re diagnosed when you’re older,” Kreger says. “Being this young and to have to worry about this constant risk, it can be a burden.”

That burden also means seeing an oncologist every six months over the next 15 years or so, and visiting a dermatologist every three months.

"It is true that most commonly, melanoma presents as a dark, irregular, uneven or changing mole,” says UC Cancer Institute expert Adam Ingraffea, MD, a clinical assistant professor and associate program director for the UC Department of Dermatology. “However, there are rare cases when it has the same color as the skin and the only clues may be the fact that it is a new or growing bump on the skin. Sometimes, it will be itchy or painful. These melanomas which are called amelanotic, meaning they have no dark pigment in them, are the most difficult for patients and clinicians to identify,” says Ingraffea.

Kreger adds that this battle has made him much more aware of watching for future warning signs on his own skin as well as protecting his loved ones. “I’m the sunscreen guy now. I went to Disney World with my fiancé’s family and kept slathering her younger siblings with sunscreen. The doctor says using between 70-100 SPF is good. I use 110.”

Melanoma is a rare form of skin cancer and yet is one of the most dangerous forms of skin cancer. The American Cancer Society reports that melanoma is diagnosed in less than 2 percent of skin cancer cases but is blamed for the majority of deaths caused by skin cancer.

The American Cancer Society reports that more than 1.6 million new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2014. Cancer is the nation’s second-leading cause of death.

UC Health provides specialists in melanoma treatment and diagnosis

– all within the same health system – which improve communication and coordination of care. Jeffrey Sussman, MD, a surgeon with the UC Cancer Institute, says open clinical trials test new drugs in situations where current treatments are inadequate. “We are the only center in the region to offer isolated limb infusion for treatment of locally advanced melanoma to save extremity function. Melanoma is one of the top five cancers treated by UC Health,” says Sussman.

Kreger is serving as team captain for the Arnold Air Society-Silver Wings participation at Relay For Life at UC this April. UC students hope to raise just over $144,430 to support American Cancer Society education, advocacy and research programs, including American Cancer Society-funded research at UC. Last year’s Relay For Life at UC raised just over $129,296.

Relay For Life at UC is the largest collegiate event of its kind in Ohio. People who are interested in taking part in the Relay For Life at UC can sign up as a team through the website or make a donation to the fundraiser. 

In 2012, UC also received the Leader of Hope Award from the American Cancer Society, meaning that UC met the high qualifications of being designated as an outstanding Relay For Life site. This year’s theme is “Heroes.”

UC’s Relay For Life website