What Is Metastatic Melanoma

             
Metastatic melanoma is an advanced form of melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer.

Melanoma begins in skin cells called melanocytes. Melanocytes make a pigment called melanin, which protects skin from the sun. They also produce moles, which are usually harmless but occasionally can become cancerous.

A melanoma can look like a mole. It is usually brown or black but can also be skin-colored, purple, blue, red, pink, or white.

Knowing the difference between a normal mole and a cancerous one, doing regular skin self-exams, and visiting a dermatologist for skin checks on a regular schedule can all be lifesaving. 

How Does Metastatic Melanoma Differ From Melanoma?Melanoma is any cancer that originates in the melanocytes, while metastatic melanoma is melanoma that spreads from the skin to other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes, liver, lungs, bones, and brain.

Most people who develop melanoma — around 4 in 5 — get their diagnosis at an early stage, while the cancer is still localized.

Treatment at this point is straightforward (a doctor may simply cut the tumor out) and extremely effective, with a five-year survival rate of over 98 percent.

Metastatic melanoma is much harder to treat and more life-threatening, killing an estimated 9,300 people in the United States each year. 

Opdivo Day

Once a month,  I have an early morning drive down to the UT Medical Cancer Center for my 30 minute infusion of Opdivo for my Melanoma.  I mention early because if I don't get down there by 7:30/8:00 am then if it very difficult to find a parking place....  right beside the Cancer Center that is...  I can drive over to the parking garage and take the elevator to the ground floor and walk over to the Cancer Center but it seen, at least by me, as an inconvenience.

When I started these Chemo Treatments in 2007/2008, the parking lot in front of the Cancer Center stayed half full all day long...

When I finished today at 9:30 am, all the spaces were taken, people had parked along the curb where there was space, and there were a dozen cars circling around the lot waiting for people like me to leave. 

Since UT Medical Center is a public medical facility, I am sure that the increase is because many of the other private hospitals are refusing to care for these patients with limited or no insurance...   and, I have noticed over the last 12 years or so that the caliber of the patients has decreased...   in that the way they are dressed, their hygiene, and the way they talk including poor grammar.

Being an English Major in College, I notices these things...

A nurse asked me today, how long was I going to be getting these treatments and I replied, "until I die or they no longer work."

12 Years, 4 Months, 14 Days, 3 Hours, 8 Minutes

Since I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's "B" cell Lymphoma...  I was 60 years of age...  and, was Dean of Students at ITT Technical Institute in Knoxville, TN.  Obviously, it was quite a shock to both me and my wife and totally unexpected.  Actually, it was my family doctor that noticed I had lost 30 pounds in 6 weeks and sent me off for further testing that resulted in a liver biopsy and the diagnosis of Lymphoma.  The specialist then referred me to an Oncologist at UT Medical - Cancer Center...  a Dr. Wahid Hanna from Cairo, Egypt which I took as a good omen because I had attended high school in Cairo, Egypt from 1962-1966.

After having my first PET scan, I began a monthly infusion of Rituxan, a chemotheraphy drug that took about 4-6 hours to administer which included pre-meds for nausea and which, over the years had no adverse side-effects on my body which was amazing to me but totally expected by Dr. Hanna.  I continued with the Rituxan treatment since it was keeping my Lymphoma from growing until I relocated to Florence, Kentucky to work as Director of Education at a proprietary school there and my new Oncologist whose name I cannot remember, decided to add Cytoxin and Fludara to my Rituxan infusions that left me violently sick each month.  I still never lost my hair.

After a year, I returned to Knoxville and Dr. Hanna refused to authorize Cytoxin and Fludara with my Rituxan and a few years later was diagnosed with Melanoma on the bottom of my left foot that all my doctors thought was a wart until it kept returning and a biopsy was taken.  The melanoma was surgically removed and four years later moved into my groin with a substantial presence.   Rituxan was replaced with Triandra for Lymphoma 0and Odivo and Yervoy for Melanoma.  Because there was a substantial amount of Melanom, surgery was impossible.  A year later, Yervoy was stopped and I received 6 intense radiation treatments.

A team of Cancer Specialists at UT Medical - Cancer Center wanted Dr. Hanna to focus on the Melanoma and leave the Lymphoma alone because there was no evidence that these drugs for two different cancers would work well together.  Dr. Hanna refused to follow their advice and 6-9 months later, Dr. Hanna was proven to be correct and a PET/CT scan revealed a substantial reduction of both my Lymphoma as well as my Melanoma.

A couple of months later, a bulge appear on the left side of my neck and after several unsuccessful biopsies, it was surgically removed and along with lymph nodes being removed, dead melanoma was also removed...  MY CANCER TREATMENTS HAD WORKED PERFECTLY...