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What He Thought Was a Tick Bite Ended Up Being Cancer

It was the middle of the night when Warren Baker awoke to an itch on his leg. As he itched it, he felt what he thought was a tick. He instinctively held the tick in place and headed to the bathroom to remove it. When he got to the bathroom and inspected his leg, he found it wasn’t a tick, but it was more of a small lump under the skin.

“I thought maybe it was some sort of bite and went back to bed,” Warren recalls.

When it didn’t go away, he showed it to his family doctor. A biopsy revealed it was melanoma.

“Cancer is a scary word,” said Warren’s wife, Cindy. “You hear that and you immediately go into solution mode. We wanted the best care and we are lucky that Tunnell Cancer Center is right here in our community.”

Patients in the South Coastal area will soon have cancer care close to home as well. Beebe is working with town and state officials to complete zoning requirements so that a groundbreaking on the Route 17 site south of Millville can be held this fall.

The red-haired freckle-faced boy who used to spend his days on the water now encourages everyone he knows to wear sunscreen and protect themselves.

“Back then we didn’t know, but now we make sure everyone wears sunscreen and hats,” Cindy said. “We are hoping our story helps someone else.”

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