Melanoma Awareness Month - Beyond Tiki

M MadDogMike Grand Member (8 years) The Anvil of the Sun Joined: Mar 30, 2008 Posts: 11045	M MadDogMike Posted posted on Sat, May 1, 2010 7:02 AM It's Melanoma Awareness Month again so let me tell you about the whole sordid affair; In January of 2006, my wife noticed a mole on her abdomen was looking ugly. It biopsied and the results came back as cutaneous melanoma. A month later, it was removed using the Mohs procedure. We were told it was gone, no further treatment needed. Almost 2 years later in December 2007, Leslie found a lump in her armpit. Turned out the melanoma had returned and had spread to her lymph nodes. Our Oncologist told us that the FDA approved treatment for metastatic melanoma has a 30% five-year survival rate, but there was a clinical trial that was having a 60% success rate - not great but still much better. So she had surgery to remove the lymph nodes and months of grueling experimental chemotherapy ending in May 2008, it looked like the cancer might be gone. Leslie recuperated, gaining strength and regrowing her hair. Then in December 2008, a routine scan showed 11 tumors in her brain - one tumor was the size of a tangerine. She underwent Gamma Knife radiation and 8 months of weekly chemotherapy, ending in August 2009. Since then, scans have come back clear and Leslie is participating in an experimental melanoma vaccine study that is showing some promise. I think equally important in Leslie's recovery has been great support from our family and friends as well as our faith in God. The point of my story is not for your sympathy or pity. My point is that it is SO MUCH EASIER to prevent melanoma than it is to treat it. Melanoma is caused almost exclusively by excessive sun exposure, please protect yourself by using sunscreen and protective clothing. There is some evidence that the times we fried ourselves as kids may cause more damage than the daily cumulative effect - BE SURE TO PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN. Melanoma is an aggressive cancer - if you do end up with a melanoma skin cancer, seek out a melanoma specialist (not just a dermatologist) and treat it aggressively. [ Edited by: MadDogMike 2010-05-01 07:17 ]

It's Melanoma Awareness Month again so let me tell you about the whole sordid affair;
In January of 2006, my wife noticed a mole on her abdomen was looking ugly. It biopsied and the results came back as cutaneous melanoma. A month later, it was removed using the Mohs procedure. We were told it was gone, no further treatment needed.
Almost 2 years later in December 2007, Leslie found a lump in her armpit. Turned out the melanoma had returned and had spread to her lymph nodes. Our Oncologist told us that the FDA approved treatment for metastatic melanoma has a 30% five-year survival rate, but there was a clinical trial that was having a 60% success rate - not great but still much better. So she had surgery to remove the lymph nodes and months of grueling experimental chemotherapy ending in May 2008, it looked like the cancer might be gone.
Leslie recuperated, gaining strength and regrowing her hair. Then in December 2008, a routine scan showed 11 tumors in her brain - one tumor was the size of a tangerine. She underwent Gamma Knife radiation and 8 months of weekly chemotherapy, ending in August 2009.
Since then, scans have come back clear and Leslie is participating in an experimental melanoma vaccine study that is showing some promise. I think equally important in Leslie's recovery has been great support from our family and friends as well as our faith in God.
The point of my story is not for your sympathy or pity. My point is that it is SO MUCH EASIER to prevent melanoma than it is to treat it. Melanoma is caused almost exclusively by excessive sun exposure, please protect yourself by using sunscreen and protective clothing. There is some evidence that the times we fried ourselves as kids may cause more damage than the daily cumulative effect - BE SURE TO PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN. Melanoma is an aggressive cancer - if you do end up with a melanoma skin cancer, seek out a melanoma specialist (not just a dermatologist) and treat it aggressively.

[ Edited by: MadDogMike 2010-05-01 07:17 ]

Post #527351 by MadDogMike on Sat, May 1, 2010 7:02 AM