Kaylee Holdge

          By Daniel Karnafel

  Kaylee Holdge, now a sophomore in college from Flower Mound, Texas received some terrible news when she was only four years old. Kaylee had skin cancer.

            What started out as a typical brown mark on her arm at the time of birth, turned out to be much more serious than an innocent little birthmark. By the age of four, doctors were forced to surgically remove the cancerous legion that found itself on this little girl’s arm. “It was a lot to go through for a little girl,” Kaylee said. The cancer covered a large surface area of her arm and existed far below the surface of the skin. “The surgeons even had to remove parts of my muscle because the cancer was so deep,” Kaylee said. Recovery from the surgery lasted three to four months and left behind a massive seven-inch scar.

            Because she was born with this condition, Kaylee is very prone to future outbreaks. “I always have to check suspicious-looking freckles and moles on my body so it’s pretty much an ongoing struggle that I have to live with for the rest of my life,” Kaylee said. Most people who have never been exposed to the worries of skin cancer don’t pay much attention to new freckles and moles that may appear on their bodies. Kaylee, however, must pay close attention to every single one because if a mole is misshapen or a freckle is multi-colored, there exists a chance of contracting skin cancer all over again.

            Despite her medical background, Kaylee likes to look at the bright side. She said she would “prefer a scar on [her] arm over a giant birthmark,” and that the scar has led to fun conversations and a chance to tell people a little bit about herself. Kaylee excelled in high school choir which won six consecutive Grammy awards and was even instructed NOT to enter the national competition one year simply so that other schools could have a chance to win. Kaylee completed high school with AP credits under her belt, enrolled in Stephen F. Austin State University where she is currently majoring in Radio/TV and an active member in her sorority. To anyone going through skin cancer, Kaylee says, “Take everything day by day, don’t think too far ahead, live every day because you don’t know what tomorrow could bring.”