Forrest Schield, 22, is cancer free and ready to resume a normal life

Lifelong Longboat Key resident Forrest Schield doesn’t study or work as much as he would like, but he recently got a piece of good news: Doctors at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville recently told him he had no cancer cells. 

Schield, now 22, was diagnosed with dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP), a rare type of skin cancer, last June.

The diagnosis came six months after Schield noticed a cyst the size of a pea on his forehead.

“The dermatologist said not to worry, that it’s benign,” Forrest’s father, Steve said. “So we tried not to worry.”

The cyst, however, kept growing. When it was the size of a grape last summer, the dermatologist performed a biopsy. When she determined it was DFSP, she called Schield and said it needed to be removed immediately.

Schield saw a doctor in Sarasota, who referred him to Shands, where a physician performed Mohs surgery, which microscopically removes the cancerous cells.

“The bad news is, if you don’t get every single cell out, it always grows back,” Steve Schield, who is the town’s senior planner, said. “With Mohs, they sliced away at his head until they found skin that was cancer-free.”

The doctor had to cut at Schield’s forehead 17 times before the cancer cells were gone.

“We thought it would be a few small incisions and cuts,” Schield’s mom, Doreen, said. “We thought they would take out a little portion. We couldn’t believe how much it was.”

The surgery removed the skin and muscle down to Schield’s bone, from just above his eyebrows to the crown of his skull.

“We hoped he’d get a little slice and it would be done,” Steve Schield said. “We thought we’d be able to go on with our lives after that.”

Mohs surgery has a 95% lifetime cure rate of DFSP; once all of a patient’s cancer cells are removed, they are unlikely to grow back.

"I’m thankful it wasn’t worse. You’ve got to be grateful for what you’ve got.” — Forrest Schield

“The good news, is it has a good cure rate,” Steve Schield said. “The bad news is where it happened. Most people get this cancer on their torso. He got his on his forehead.”

In August, doctors removed muscle from Schield’s back and leg skin to put on his exposed skull area to replace tissue lost during surgery. The muscle tissue will be removed in July to restore his head. 

“Chemo was what I was most dreading, so I’m just thankful I didn’t have to go through that,” Schield said. “My worst worry was to save my hair. Obviously, that didn’t really happen.”

On May 1, Schield returned to Shands and had a balloon put in the back of his head, which will gradually be inflated. Once fully inflated in July, doctors will take out the balloon and pull his hairline back.

“As long as all my features line up, which they should, it’s OK if I have a little bit of scarring,” Schield said. “People don’t notice a little scarring. They do notice if you’re missing an eyebrow or something else.”

That doctors found no cancer cells comes as welcome news for Schield. 

“It was a big relief, knowing I wouldn’t have to do this whole thing again,” Schield said. “That was my biggest fear.”

Schield continues to work at Longboat’s Quik-N-Easy and take classes at the State College of Florida, both of which he did before his diagnosis.

“Graduating has been pushed back, and I can’t work as much as I  hoped,” Schield said. “My bosses have been great. Most people have been great, and I’m really thankful for everyone’s prayers and support.”

Schield’s battle is almost over, and he looks forward to resuming his normal life.

“I’ve had to put this hold on my life,” Schield said. “I’ll be pretty scarred up, and I have to live with check-ups for the rest of my life. Before, my biggest worry was that my hair was receding. Then I lost most of it. I’m thankful it wasn’t worse. You’ve got to be grateful for what you’ve got.”