Today we’d like to introduce you to Leah Koskinen
Hi Leah, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Six years ago, a few months after my son’s first birthday, I was diagnosed with Stage III Melanoma. It was my first time going to a dermatologist because my mom had said something along the lines of, “now that you’re a mom, you should make sure you’re getting checked out once a year”. Well thank goodness she urged me and the timing worked out the way that it did. I had a mole pop up on my shoulder, directly under my bra strap about a month before my derm appointment. They decided to remove and biopsy it, but they felt fairly confident it was nothing, so knowing nothing about skin cancer or more specifically Melanoma, I left that appointment and didn’t think twice about it. Then a week later I received a call from the doctor. “The test results came back, it’s Melanoma and we are concerned with how deep it is. We want to transfer your case over to University of Michigan ASAP.” This phone call was the end of April. By the end of May I was having surgery at U of M to take out the surrounding area of my mole and my sentinel node. Margins were clear for the surrounding area but the sentinel node was positive for cancer, so that one was removed. Since then I have done countless ultrasounds, CT scans, MRIs and biopsies. In all transparency, I spent the first year or two after my diagnosis afraid of the sun. I forced myself to work through it as having a small child, I didn’t want him to pick up on my fear and also become fearful of the sun. The unique thing about Melanoma is that it can go anywhere in the body, including the fetus so after my diagnosis, we were told we couldn’t have another baby for 5 years (as long as the cancer didn’t come back). Happy to report, we made the difficult decision 3.5 years later to start trying and now my daughter is 2.5 years old and my cancer hasn’t come back. I spend my days now being a mom to my 8 year old son (Boden) and Kenzie. Also being a host mom to Mati (17) from Italy. When I’m not in mom mode, I am doing advocacy work through University of Michigan, a handful of non-profits and working on local advocacy within my son’s school.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been smooth. Like I mentioned previously, having to put a hold on having another baby was probably as heartbreaking as the cancer diagnosis as for a lot of years we really didn’t know if we would ever have another child.
Also having to re-wire my brain on what outside time looked like was very challenging. I did use tanning beds growing up, I remember getting at least one bad sunburn in Mexico on spring break and growing up I always loved sitting outside with my “SPF 10 + bronzing” lotion.
Now I’m always wearing sunscreen (and re-applying every 2 hours), a hat and/or sun protective clothing. I also make sure to do that for my kids.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I graduated from Oakland University with a degree in business and minor in entrepreneurship. I did an internship at a recruiting firm in college and then was hired on right from college and stayed until my son was born. Shortly after he was born, my husband received a job opportunity in Canada for 2.5 years. So I made the difficult decision to not go back to work and become a SAHM so we could navigate life in a new country as a new mom and family. My cancer diagnosis happened less than a year after us moving.
After the surgery and my diagnosis + recovery really started to settle in, I started diving into healthy eating and became a certified health + life coach for other moms who were trying to rock mom life while also navigating their own life behind the scenes. Wether its a health scare or just the ups and downs of life, its so hard to be the best parent you can when you’re falling apart. I felt alone for the first few years after my diagnosis and part of my coaching “why” was that I didn’t want anyone else to feel that way. This also started my desire and passion to be a patient advocate and advisor for University of Michigan.
I had my own coaching business for at least a couple of years (I think coaching others helped me heal just as much as I helped them if not more), and then I took a pause when I got pregnant as the stress and worry of the cancer getting to the baby was damn near paralyzing.
The placenta came back negative for any traces of Melanoma which was the biggest deep breath I’ve ever taken since this story started.
Once I hit my 6 year mark, I decided I was ready to dive into Melanoma awareness, education and advocacy. I created an instagram page in may of 2024, and have connected with so many other melanoma patients since. I also work closely on different projects with The Skin Cancer Foundation, Melanoma Research Alliance and Melanoma Research Foundation.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Books! I absolutely love reading books. Books have gotten me through the hardest of times because sometimes you just need to detach or zone out from your real life and be in a fictional world for awhile. It also helps keep my brain sharp when life feels overwhelming
SPF HACKS + BOOK STACKS!
Also the importance of daily sun protection! Rain or shine, you should be wearing it. Three things to keep in mind when purchasing sunscreen. We want it to be broad-spectrum, at least SPF 30 and water-resistant. Then re-apply every 2 hours!
Don’t forget to teach your kids about the importance of sun safety at a young age. It’s just like brushing your teeth everyday, the younger you instill this habit, the easier it will be for the parents and kids!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MakeDermSure
