Melanoma / Skin Cancer Community

melastruck...ouch that really hurts.

I can't really relate to your situation as I or no one in my family has had melanoma fortunately. However I have had some bouts with skin cancer the less serious forms and I get checked at least yearly by a dermatologist.
I am hoping the best for your father, and that MD Anderson can give some positive news.
WebMD has great resources on the topic of melanoma and you can generally find information here, and even though this particular board is slow, there are folks on here who have been diagnosed with this type of cancer and hopefully they will reply to your post ?

I wish your father all the best for a speedy recovery.

Hi, I just went through this with my dad, I wish I had good news, but I dont, my dad started with melonoma on his back it was removed, and about a month later he started feeling tired, sick, had a cough, he went back and forth to the doctors three times and was on three different antibiotics because they thought it was the flu, so after that didnt work and he was getting worse, they did a chest xray and cat-scan, which revealed he had stage#4 large B cell non-hodgekins lyphoma, we were all devasted,, He started chemo almost immediatly, he did 8 cycles of chemo, he felt fine during chemo but by the 19 day of each break period in between chemo, he would start to get fatiged,nausea,no appetiate,etc, so his oncologist suggested a stem-cell transplant, he said it would probulary take two transpants for a cure, my dad made it through one and one week before the second one, he started feeling sick again,so after blood and more tests we found out his lyphoma had travelded to his liver and a spot on his lung, my dad wasnt ready to give up yet, so they tryed a different chemo, one that wasnt processed through liver completly, so unfortuatly the doctors told my dad there was anything else they could do, because most experimental treatments wouldnt take someone with liver cancer, So we called hospice for a consult, we were going to take him home with services, but quickly realized it was more than we could handle, which for me was hard because I work at a hospice home, which insidently is were my dad ended up, but everyone I worked with was really good about giving me and my family our space, my dad just turned 61 yrs old on jan 20 and passed at the hospice house on jan22, we just had his funeral this weeknd. I hope this doesnt discourge you to much, I looked into alot of different options for my dad, but the bottom line is what does your dad want and what are his options, you want your dad to be well as any daughter would but you also want him to have quality of life to,.........I hope this might help you

Sorry to hear about your dad. Ipilimumab is the latest investigational drug for metastatic melanoma and has been shown to have some amazing results. I am not sure about all the clinical trial requirements, but your dad may have to fail another drug b4 being started on Ipi...will depend on the trial. I am sure MD Anderson has the drug on study. Best of luck.

If you have time read some of the other post on here by jayray.
He has had melanoma for seven years. He is on a new drug and it is helping him. Jayray/ Jeff has a wealth of knowledge about melanoma and treatments.

I really am sorry to hear that you Dad is having such a hard time.

Come here anytime ro rant.

I hope you will come back with some good news after you go to
MS Anderson.

Ipilimumab is the drug Jeff is getting good results with.


Prayers for your Dad and your family.

Really sorry to hear about your Dad. Though it wasn't the same type of cancer, I went through a similar situation with my father in terms of the aggression of his illness. My advice is don't give up and don't let your father give up. People have survived all kinds of cancer related illnesses.

But in order to achieve the best results you should really focus on holistic treatment along with conventional and experimental treatments. In other words, keep a positive attitude, change his diet to avoid sugar and processed foods and meats and focus more on antioxidants, sea food (in moderation), fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Also try to find spiritual support if possible. Look for support groups in your area. Keep doing more research. There are a lot of good books and plenty of information available.

Although my father didn't survive his battle, I do feel that it's possible to defeat cancer. Keep fighting as long as it doesn't cause more pain and discomfort to your father.

Prayers and best wishes for your father and his family.

My thoughts and prayers are with your Dad and your family.
I have metastic melanoma. Diagnosed in Oct. 2007 resulting in immediate lymph node surgery. In Aug. 2008 a tumor was found in my colon, now I'm Stage 4. After colon surgery I began a protocol that has resulted in clear scans every 3 month with 'no evidence of disease' since. If I knew then what I know now, I would have done everything much differently.

What treatment did you do? My sister has just been told her melanoma is now in her lungs and bones,. Di you have any information that could help her? Please email me lynndietz777@yahoo.com

please tell me a sign that it has spread inside the body.. I only have had them removed in early stage.and how do you know if they are invading an inner part? Worried to death. I have had my 4th one removed!! And looked like and ordinary freckle!