Expert skin cancer treatment keeps delivery driver’s foot on the gas
His job is delivering highly anticipated bundles to people across Monroe County. His favorite leisure activity is working in his garden. Either way, Barry Fehr is in and out of the sun all day long. That’s why his wife, Hollie, is so insistent that her husband wear sunscreen. It’s also why Barry sees his dermatologist every year. His visit in November 2025, however, was different than usual.
Barry’s dermatologist was alerted by the darkening of a mole he had previously checked on Barry’s foot. He ordered a biopsy, and the test showed the spot was malignant. The dermatologist recommended Barry contact surgical oncologist Jacqueline Oxenberg, DO, with LVH Surgical Oncology–Pocono and Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute, part of Jefferson Health.
Even though Barry lives in Easton, the doctor was firm. “I asked why he was recommending someone in East Stroudsburg,” Barry says. “The doctor just said, ‘Because she’s that good.’”
The recommendation proved to be stellar, as Barry found care with the team at the Dale and Frances Hughes Cancer Center at Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Pocono to be “fantastic.” Because the cancer was on a direct path to lymph nodes in Barry’s groin, Dr. Oxenberg recommended a lymph-node biopsy to be conducted at the same time she performed surgery on Barry’s foot.
“Before surgery, we inject dye around the tumor. The first nodes a tumor drains into are typically the ones that pick up the dye and are also the most likely to involve cancer if it has spread,” Dr. Oxenberg says. “Barry had two lymph nodes taken, and the one next to the node that picked up the dye appeared abnormal.”
After that, Dr. Oxenberg ordered a full-body positron emission tomography (PET) scan.
“The abnormal node I found in the operating room had metastatic melanoma in it. That’s why the PET scan was ordered first,” Dr. Oxenberg says. “Barry was sent for a colonoscopy after his PET scan also showed an abnormality in the colon. This was not associated with the lymph nodes and was found to be a noncancerous polyp.”
“These results were good, but I’m so grateful Dr. Oxenberg took the extra time to clear my conscience,” Barry says. “Some people would bypass that.”
After receiving the pathology on Barry’s foot and lymph nodes, Dr. Oxenberg referred him to hematologist oncologist Mariette Austin, MD, with LVH Hematology Oncology–Hecktown Oaks, part of Jefferson Health.
“Considering Barry’s melanoma was lymph-node positive, he needed postop treatment to lower the risk for the cancer relapsing elsewhere in the body,” Dr. Austin says. “The melanoma also tested positive for BRAF, a gene connected to a protein that affects cell growth, so he is being treated with oral medication that he will take for a year.”
In the meantime, Barry is back at work and tending his garden. He and his family are talking about traveling as well. He says he sometimes gets tired because his job is physically demanding, but 99 percent of the time, he forgets that anything happened.
“You hear cancer and you think the worst,” he says. “But Drs. Oxenberg and Austin really let us know it was going to be OK and they would ‘take care of this.’ Anytime I have questions, they get back to me.”
Barry will need to be monitored for a minimum of five years from the time of his surgery, since melanoma can still relapse after medication therapy has been completed. He says while his medical experience was positive, he is looking forward to saying “good-bye” once his treatment is complete.
“I can’t emphasize enough how great the team is. Every time I walk in, I look forward to going to the doctor,” Barry says. “But as much as I love my doctors, I can’t wait to ring that bell and never see them again.”
