Health-News-Tips

You may find some good info below.

I am Irish and unlike the rest of my family I am lucky to have escaped the pale pasty Irish skin! I am naturally tanned i.e. i’ve never used a tanning bed or any of that jazz.
So how do i protect myself when I’m in the sun? Should I try and stop myself tanning at all? Is there anything different people with tanned skin do to people with fair skin?
I do spend a lot of time abroad and in the sun so i can’t change that.

Thanks!

You protect yourself from the sun by wearing sunscreen at all times and not trying to tan. Pale Irish skin is not the only skin that gets melanoma. And don’t forget to protect your lips and eyes, also.

My sister who is only 27 has stage 4 melanoma skin cancer? she has done Chemotherapy ,MRI,SCAT,Surgery’s, and shes on some meds too,and other things i cant remember.
She was diagnosed a year ago and she was already at stage 4.
What is the life expectancy? Is there a cure? Is stage 4 the worse or is there more stages.
My family is very touchy on the subject and i just want some answers.
She has lost her all her, so much weight, her eye sight is going,she has memory loss and i just want to learn more so i know i dont say something stupid or sound uncaring.
Thank you for your help

Stage 4 is the last stage and it is not curable. Usually patients with stage 4 disease are encouraged to enter clinical trials. We have not been able to find an effective treatment for this cancer so there isn’t a standard way to treat it as there is with most other cancers. The median survival is 6-7 months at stage 4. I’m very sorry.

My dad has been struggling with cancer for about 4 yrs now. The first time the cancer was found in the bladder, kidneys. He now has only one kidney. Later he was diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer at stage 3. Back in Nov 2007 he had a surgery removing some lymph nodes and then he began chemo shortly after which made him to sick and he quit taking it after about 3 wks. That was December07-Jan08 about 3wks ago in May 08 they found that the cancer has spread to the lungs and I believe there are 2nodes in each lung and now I was told my dad has stage 4 melanoma skin cancer. I just want some information I have a 10yr old son and his papaw is his world. My dad is only 54 yrs old I want to know what the lifspan is. All honesty be blunt I need to know and prepare myself and my son.

As you already know your father’s situation is very grave. I’d look into the clinical trials currently being done for stage 4 malignant melanoma. This site will let you search for hospitals located nearby that are involved with ongoing melanoma clinical trials. Select malignant melanoma then enter the state or states where you could possibly go.
http://www.clinicaltrialssearch.org/clinical_trials_by_state.html
good luck to your father &
all the best to you and your family

I’m worried about a spot on my arm- a small, weird freckle that’s light with dark spots, itchy and bumpy. I don’t think it’s new or has changed, I noticed it more when it started to itch about a year or two ago.

I think I should get it checked out but I sometimes overreact to these kinds of things and end up with HUGE hospital bills. My insurance SUCKS.

My mom and maternal grandmother have both had skin cancer/melanoma. Mom said hers was like a "pimple that wouldn’t go away". They live too far to look at it for me. I know that me being fair skinned and not always using sunscreen improves my chances of having skin cancer too.

How can I tell if I have something worth checking out? Is there a website with photos, or a way to get it looked at for free?

go to you local health clinic i know ours offer two or three times a year free screening so you can always ask