Pregnant mom's headaches turned out to be stage IV melanoma

After Jenney Bitner fell twice during a family trip to San Diego, an emergency-room MRI found a brain tumor, and testing showed stage IV melanoma had already spread to her brain. Two urgent cares had first told Bitner that her headaches, nausea, vomiting and unsteady gait were likely just pregnancy symptoms.

Bitner was 38 and pregnant with her fourth child when the symptoms escalated in 2020. She had become so sick she could not get out of bed, then fell twice after getting home, forcing the trip to the hospital. The diagnosis was a shock for a patient who feared she might not live long enough to see her children grow up.

Doctors also found a cancerous nodule in her back that was large enough to be felt through her skin. Because immunotherapy was not safe during pregnancy, her medical team monitored her closely and delivered the baby by C-section at 34 weeks so treatment could begin. Days before delivery, another scan showed the tumor had regrown to full size, requiring additional brain surgery.

Worsening headaches, repeated vomiting, balance problems, falls and other neurologic changes are warning signs. Brain metastases can also cause vision problems and seizures. For melanoma that has spread to distant parts of the body, the five-year relative survival rate is about 35% based on people diagnosed between 2015 and 2021, according to the American Cancer Society, up from about 15% in the mid-2000s as immunotherapy and targeted drugs improved outcomes.

The Melanoma Research Alliance projects about 112,000 new invasive melanoma cases in the United States in 2026.