ESPN Sports Reporter Holly Rowe Shares What It’s Like to Live With Advanced Melanoma

The renowned ESPN television reporter Holly Rowe is eager to discuss an arena of her expertise beyond sports: melanoma. Rowe was diagnosed with a stage 3 desmoplastic melanoma, a rare form of melanoma that originates in the nerves, in 2015, after she had a suspicious spot on her chest biopsied.

At the time, she thought the spot was a scar from a previous biopsy, which had tested benign. “The scar just kept getting bigger and bigger, and it was raised and it looked ugly,” she says. She wanted it removed for cosmetic reasons.

She wasn’t expecting bad news. “It was just shocking,” she says, of the diagnosis. “I was walking down the street in New York City when I got the phone call and I just remember stopping on the curb being like, ‘Cancer? No, you said it was fine.’”

Even then, she says, she didn’t get it.

“I thought, ‘They’ll just take it out and everything will be fine.’ What I didn’t know then that I do now is that melanoma is very fast growing and deadly, can be really invasive, and get inside your body and your organs,” she says. “Now,” she adds, “I just want to shout from the rooftops to everyone about melanoma, because I didn’t know, and I’m guessing a lot of other people don’t know.”

These days, Rowe is doing well on an immunotherapy drug, feeling good, still at her job, and ready to share advice.

Everyday Health: Do you feel like you were more exposed to melanoma or were more at risk because of your work?

Holly Rowe: I really do, because the kind of melanoma that I got is extremely rare, but the people who most often get it are farmers, and that's people who are outside working all day. About 75 percent of my job is outside, because I'm working at college football games. And the spot that I had was right on my chest, a spot that is always exposed when I'm reporting. I definitely think I'm in the sun more than most people, and I think it contributed.

EH: You decided to go public with your diagnosis. Not every celebrity goes that route. What was your thought process about being open to your fans about your diagnosis?

Holly Rowe: Well, it was accidental. I work for ESPN and I'm on TV. And the night before I had surgery, I was doing a basketball game. And I just told a few of my crew people, "Hey, I'm going in for surgery tomorrow." And when I went in for surgery the next morning, a lot of the people who were coming in to have me sign forms and permission slips and so forth said, "Are you the Holly Rowe from ESPN?" And I just started thinking like, People might find out about this, because people are asking me a lot of questions in the hospital. And so, just sitting there in my gown, I texted out a quick little note to our PR department at ESPN and said, "Hey, just so you know, I'm undergoing surgery today." And when I got out of surgery, I was recovering, lying in my hospital bed, and I asked my son to turn on a basketball game that I wanted to watch, and it was scrolling across the bottom line of ESPN. And I was like, “I'm not sure that's what I had intended by sending that text.” But in retrospect, it all worked out great, because I got a lot of kind, loving public support. I don't think I set out to go public about it, but it ended up helping me, because I had a nation of people supporting me. It was really cool.

EH: You’ve said you’ve become “that person” when it comes to telling people to use sunscreen. What do you wish more people knew?

HR: I’m at the women’s college world series covering softball, and sun safety is really on my mind, because I see all these people out in the stands just baking. I literally yelled at a lady yesterday, like, “Please, go put on some sunscreen.” The sun is stronger and more dangerous than it's ever been in our society, just because of what's going on with our environment. The best thing you can do is cover up. Now, people will use sunscreen, and that is awesome, but when I go to the beach and when I go out, I cover my skin [with clothes] because that way I'm not putting anything chemical on my skin. I'm just covering my skin, and it makes a huge world of difference. I try to be super vigilant about it. I put sunscreen in my part so I'm not getting my scalp sunburned. I put sunscreen around my ears so they're not getting sunburned. I mean, it's not sexy. I go to the beach and I'm like, here I am, covered from head to toe, but I know I'm not going to die from melanoma, so that is the trade-off. Two blistering sunburns increases your chance of getting melanoma by 50 percent. That's shocking. Going to the tanning bed one time almost doubles your chance of melanoma. That is shocking. I want people to cover up and be smarter about the sun, because what I went through, you don't want to go through. I've had lots of surgeries. My body has been disfigured in some ways. I'm dealing with issues related to my cancer and surgeries every day. There's no suntan in the world that is worth what I have been through. That's what I want everyone to know.

EH: With regard to treatment, what should people know?

HR: The importance of taking your diagnosis seriously. If you have melanoma, be super aggressive. Go for the most aggressive form of treatment, get it removed quickly, because once it metastasizes in your body, melanoma can go to your lungs, your brain. It can go everywhere. The other thing is, always ask, is there a clinical trial that I can qualify for? Because when I was going through it this new immunotherapy was not FDA approved yet for my stage. The only way I could get access to this medication that has saved my life was to be in a clinical trial. And I'm just so grateful that I was able to get into that trial, because if it had kept going and going and the tumors in my lung kept growing and growing, I probably wouldn't be here now. So be aggressive and ask a lot of questions about your treatment and what's available. It's crucial.

EH: You continued to work throughout your whole experience, is that right?

HR: I did. And, again, now that I look back on that, I do realize I'm a crazy person. I was in such a dark place, because I ended up with inoperable tumors in my lung, which is normally a deadly situation, and I was really lucky to get on immunotherapy. I knew that I was in trouble, and I was in a deadly situation. And I just thought, if I stop working and sit on my couch, that might kill me even faster. I just didn't feel like I was the type of person that could put my life on hold, because then I'm not really living. So, I set little goals for myself: “Okay, after this surgery I’ll be back in time for the big 12 basketball tournament, so I get to cover Kansas basketball and Texas basketball. I’ll be back for the draft so I can be there when Brianna Stewart goes number one, because I've covered her since she was 18 years old.” I think it helped get me through my cancer, because I wasn't sitting around feeling sorry for myself and only obsessing about that. I feel like living with a little bit of purpose and joy helped me.

EH: You mentioned somewhere that you started keeping a joy journal after your diagnosis, and that you started playing piano. You started living differently in response to your diagnosis. How did that come about?

HR: I had one really serious conversation with my doctor where he said, “You should start thinking about how you're spending your time.” And I thought that was his super polite way of saying we are not sure how much time you have left. And I sat down on my couch one day and closed my eyes and I thought, What would I be doing if I don't have a lot longer to live? And I was really proud of myself, because I was already living that way. What I did do, though, is quit worrying about all the little stuff. There's just all these daily things that we worry about that are so inconsequential to actually living a happy life. And so I just decided to live in the joyful moments.

EH: Can you give us an example of a joyful moment?

Holly Rowe: One real example I can think of: I was at a New York Liberty basketball game in New York City and I'm getting ready to do my job, and this children's choir comes out and they sing before the game. And I just lost myself in the song and sat there and wept and looked at their little faces. I was just having this joyful moment, and I thought, Why don't I soak more of these in? Why don't I, every single day, have some kind of moment where I'm like, I am so joyful right now? They slip through our fingers every single day and we don't sit and absorb and enjoy. It made me happier. I'm doing better now. I just had a scan where the tumors in my lung are now nonviewable. And I'm mad at myself a little, because now I'm getting back to being task oriented: “Well, maybe I'm going to live, so I better get this, this, and this done.” And it's stupid stuff, like get your car serviced and clean your house. And I want to get back and keep living in the joyful space, because that's actually what life is about, being joyful every day.

EH: And you learned to play the piano and started a band?

HR: We all have our someday list. But someday is not just going to pop up one day unless you decide to make it that way. I used to play the piano as a kid, and I've always wanted to get back to that and take lessons again. So, I started doing that and some of my girlfriends and I started a band. My family nickname is Ho Ho. So we started the Ho Ho Ho Band and we did a Christmas concert and we did all Christmas carols and singalongs. And we are now planning our summer beach series, so we're very excited. We’re the Beaches and Hos for the summer beach series. We're all waiting for someday, and the someday is today, so I think that's one of the biggest lessons I've learned.

EH: You have a son who is in his mid-twenties now. How has it been being a parent through your treatment experience?

HR: I'm a single mom. So it’s just been the two of us. We’re very, very close. He didn't want to see me suffering, and he felt really scared about what was happening. And I think the funniest moment was I had a good scan. I had ended my chemo. And I called him and told him. And later that night at 3 o'clock in the morning I got a drunk message. Now, that's not necessarily a proud mother moment, but I find it hilarious. And he's like, "Mom, I'm in a bar and I'm in the corner crying because I've just realized you're beating this thing." And it was the first time he had allowed himself to be emotional about what was happening to his mom.

EH: What has surprised you most in your experience?

HR: One of the interesting things I found through all of this is it's hard to talk to your family about what you are scared about because it scares them. And something I would suggest for other people who are going through cancer is to find a friend or somebody else you're close to and feel like you can share with, but who is not going to be frightened of what you're feeling. Because it's hard to share some of that stuff with your family, because they love you so much. I have a friend going through breast cancer right now, and I said, “I want to be that person for you. When you are scared, you call me, because your kids can't handle it and your husband may not be able to. You call me and I'm there for you. The times that you're scared and you're feeling down, you call me.” I think that's important for a lot of people going through cancer.

EH: Did you have that person in the course of your journey?

HR: I did. I had several good people, but one in particular was my friend Doris Burke. She works for ESPN. She's just a badass woman in her own right and I distinctly remember calling her one night. I was taking a bath and I just called her crying. And I didn't cry a ton, because I'm a strong, happy person, but I called her one night and I said, "I'm terrified. I don't feel well and I don't know if I can do this." I was initially on some really strong, hideous chemo. And that was the worst part, the chemo. I struggled. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't move. It was bad and I just remember calling her one night telling her how frightened I was, and she was there for me, and it was really beautiful.

EH: Any last words of advice before we sign off?

HR: When in doubt, get it checked out. Through COVID, I was really worried, because through the stay-at-home period we've all not wanted to go in and get things checked because we don't want to go into hospitals or to see doctors. I think we've all been procrastinating. That’s my biggest message. Stop procrastinating right now and go get that checked out.