Jenn Frederick of North Lima receives treatment at Cleveland Clinic.

NORTH LIMA — Though she may never know for sure what caused a malignant melanoma that spread to her brain and lungs, Jenn Frederick is pretty sure her past tanning habits played a role.

As warmer weather moves in, Frederick said she wants to get the message out about what she calls a “sneaky, sneaky disease” that’s not talked about enough.

Frederick, 50, of North Lima, said her cancer is considered inactive, thanks to the expert care of doctors at Cleveland Clinic’s Taussig Cancer Center.

The 1992 Boardman High School graduate said she believes her cancer can be tied to a few blistering sunburns when she was younger, paired with visits to a tanning salon before the risks were fully known.

“That’s the scary part,” she said, explaining the dangers of sun exposure weren’t talked about as often when she was younger and that people weren’t quick to see a dermatologist for skin checks. “I never did.”

That is, until she had to.

As an Italian girl with auburn hair, freckles and lighter skin than most of her family members, Frederick was more prone to sunburns and said there were times her pursuit of tanned skin dictated decisions such as where to vacation.

“I was so tan and dark,” she said, adding that most vacations were to the beach, and she would prep by getting a “base tan” in a tanning bed.

Frederick’s cancer is considered stage 4 because it spread, but she said it doesn’t mean she has brain or lung cancer, per se, because they are considered lesions that came from a primary source.

She is not considered “cancer free,” and there isn’t remission for melanoma, but Frederick explained her doctors consider her cancer to be controlled.

“I don’t have active cancer, but I still have cancer,” she said.

A lump near her groin developed in late January 2023 and Frederick said she thought she had a pulled muscle. Another spot appeared a few months later and eventually both areas turned black beneath her skin.

In December 2023, she had surgery to remove the spots at the same time she had a hysterectomy for unrelated reasons, she said, adding “I didn’t know I had cancer.”

It was a few days later, on her way to Cleveland for a checkup, when she got a message through her patient portal, “My Chart.” She was driving with her mom when she saw the words “malignant metastatic melanoma.”

She was told the cancer had spread to her lungs, and eventually, that it was also in her brain.

“All I did was fall to my knees and sob,” she said. “I was like, ‘I’m a goner.'”

But she said self-pity didn’t last long. “That’s not who I am,” she said. “I’ve always been positive.”

Though she admits initially thinking her diagnosis was a death sentence, Frederick said, her initial fear and depression turned to hope.

“Positivity and a motivating mindset changed everything for me,” she said, explaining that stress can fuel cancer, so she decided to approach it with a fighting spirit.

She credits her husband, Dean, with being a support system for her, saying he used his background and contacts in the medical sales field to get all her questions answered in the days after diagnosis.

When she got the news, Frederick said, she had no symptoms and was in the best shape of her life after spending a lot of time during the COVID-19 pandemic working out. “I couldn’t tell you the last time I was sick,” she added.

She underwent Gamma Knife radiation and soon after immunotherapy to which she said she responded well, but it caused side effects including tiredness and colitis, or inflammation of the colon.

The immunotherapy erased the freckles and sunspots that had accumulated on her face and body over the years and also turned all the hair on her body white.

“Everyone tells me I have nice skin,” she said with a laugh. “Well, it took cancer to give me nice skin.”

She said she wished more people would get annual skin checks and wear sunscreen — something she does 365 days a year, if she plans to be outside.

Dr. Lucy Boyce Kennedy, Frederick’s medical oncologist at the clinic, said traditional chemotherapy doesn’t work well with melanoma.

Since the 2010’s, immunotherapy has shown great promise to treat Frederick’s type of cancer, which Dr. Kennedy called “aggressive.”

This type of treatment can continue to work for a long time, the doctor said, adding that many patients are still doing well at the 10-year mark.

“We do see a lot of patients with really great outcomes,” she said. “I think Jenn is an example of that.”

But Frederick should take some of the credit for her recovery, her doctor said, explaining her mindset and support system go a long way toward recovery.

“It’s a lot to go through and she’s been through so much,” Dr. Kennedy said. “She’s really an inspiration.”

Frederick undergoes IV immunotherapy every four weeks and has PET scans and MRIs every three months. She is part of The Fourth Angel, a clinic-sponsored program that pairs cancer patients with others who have been recently diagnosed.

“I’m still in treatment but living my life,” she said. “I want to help as many people in my life that I possibly can.”

She said she sometimes has survivor’s guilt when she thinks about others who didn’t make it.

She reached out to Courtney Iannazone, of Canfield, who had the same type of cancer, but Frederick said her case was too advanced and she died a few weeks later.

“We talked a lot in the two weeks before she died and her story never got out there, but I want her to be remembered,” Frederick said. “Her fight and her strength really gave me hope and inspired me.”

She said melanoma is often mistaken for skin cancer. but explained that a melanoma diagnosis means the cancer has moved into the deepest layers of skin and can metastasize.

Frederick admits she is triggered by hearing other people talk about tanning outdoors or in a bed.

“I wish the younger girls would be more aware,” she said.

Before COVID-19, Frederick worked in banking, and now, works one day a week at 850 Blues, which is closing this summer.

For now, she is back to living life the way she used to, except for spending long periods in the sun and chasing a tan.

“I’m going to go to Florida again, and I’m not scared anymore,” she said. “I’m allowed to be in the sun, just protected.”