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

Would they refer them to a specialist or a demotologist ??? Thanks
I dont have cancer btw just a question.

If you doctor suspects that you have a malignant melanoma, he or she will arrange for the lesion and an area of surrounding skin to be removed to decrease the risk of malignant cells remaining. The tissue will be examined under a microscope. If the tissue is cancerous, a larger portion of skin may be removed, which may require a skin graft. Samples may also be taken from the lymph nodes near the melanoma and examined for cancerous cells, the presence of which would indicate that the cancer has spread. If it has, you may have chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or biological therapies.

Superfcial melanomas that are treated early are usually cured, but melanomas are more often fatal in men, possibly because men do not always report symptoms immediately. If melanomas are aggressive or penetrate deep into the skin, the outlook is less optimistic, and, if they spread to other areas of the body, they are often fatal.

You will be referred to a specialised within a hospital environment.

Good luck.

http://i34.tinypic.com/232lw4.jpg
I’ve had this for almost about 3 years I think. maybe almost four years. I use to go to the pool a lot and sometimes I were sunscreens. I don’t know.. maybe I missed some spot. But now I’m really wondering if I have Melanoma Skin cancer and I’m also wondering if there’s a chance if I’m going to die.. And do I have to go through any therapy to get rid of this?

Here’s the story, it started growing a lot this year and it’s been itching all of a sudden. And the mole is almost an inch wide. I shave. could it cause it. And inside my leg around the mole feels a bit rougher than the other side behind my left leg (I have the mole behind my upper leg). And my big sister has the same thing. It looks bruised and bloody like too.

Can someone that knows a lot about Melanoma reply to this cause I can’t handle the worries anymore.

Yes go see a doctor my step dad has a mole like that on his back and its cancerious. I suggest getting treatments and doing as much as you can for it

My dad has had several lumps removed from this one area on his arm. He originally had some crusty, weired looking mole there it got worse, had it biopsied, and had it cut out.
It has returned a couple of times, and so had more cut away. He gets regular check ups and he has been good for a while., but now whatever it is has returned and he has to have more flesh cut away, this time he has to have general anesthetic as it is alot deeper and they don’t wan’t to damage the nerves.

Please explain, does he actually have skin cancer or do they cut these lumps and bumps out so it doesn’t progress into melanoma skin cancer?

How come there is not treatment given to prevent the lumps from returning?

My dad’s arm has a huge crater in it already. Is he in danger of losing his arm?

It is difficult to know what exactly is going on, because I live in another country. All this is relayed to me by phone or e-mail.

I’ve had basal cell skin cancer removed and my husband has had melanoma removed. I’d say that whatever is growing on your Dad is definitely skin cancer and if he hasn’t seen a dermatologist who specializes in skin cancer, he really should.

I’m not as familiar with melanoma, but for my basal cell cancer they did something called a Moh’s procedure where they sliced out the cancer…sent me to the waiting room and carefully examined the tissue they removed from me. If the bottom layer of the tissue still has cancer cells in it, then they immediately take you back and cut deeper and deeper until they get it all.

I doubt that your dad would need his arm removed, but they might need to dig pretty deep to get all the cancer. Melanoma is dangerous if it spreads beyond your skin but if they can catch it early, its pretty treatable.

Best of luck to you!

I had melanoma on my arm 2 years ago, removed by my dermatologist at Kaiser. She removed all the skin around it and found the cancer was gone so I wasn’t worried about that one anymore. In the past few weeks I noticed 2 new ones that I’m pretty sure are melanoma, scaly with black spots, bleeding, uneven borders, etc. When I called to see a dermatologist again, the receptionist at Kaiser said they had at least a 3 week wait before I could get in. I was surprised they didn’t get me in immediately. Does anyone know if I have awhile with Melanoma before it spreads to be deadly? This is the deadly form of skin cancer and once you get one it often means you’ll be getting more in the future.

Should I be ok with waiting 3 more weeks or should I panic and demand an appt NOW???
I can’t go anywhere else. I have Kaiser and they’re my HMO, the only place I can go to get treated if I want insurance to cover it.

I have Kaiser and also have melanoma. I just showed up at office and told them I would wait all day if I had to.

Be persistent, the scheduling nurse knows nothing about your past history. You must tell them and do not assume that they know.

Go to Kaiser on line and e-mail your dermatologist with your history and current situation. It defiantly sounds like melanoma to me.

If it’s spread, is it still curable? If treated late (it’s spread to her back, chest and stomach and seems relatively mild) is it still curable? What percentage are cured if treated late?
Also the spots on her are pretty light, but theres quite a bit of them.
She’s a friend. She’s already gone to the hospital but she didn’t say more than "I have skin cancer" and I don’t even know if she wants treatment, but that’s not exactly a question.

My husband had melanoma. There are many forms of skin cancer and some are very mild and are simply cut off once they form. If she’s went to the doctor and they did not remove anything then I think it’s safe to say she has a very mild form of skin cancer. If they did remove any moles then pathology results would have revealed what type of cancer. Melanoma does have a tendency to crawl across the body meaning new melanoma moles will pop up but the depth of the melanoma pretty much determines how harmful it is. Let’s say your friend does have melanoma in several places but they are all caught early enough (caught before they grow past a 1mm depth), then it’s catching it early enough. Once melanoma starts to growth at depth more than 1mm, the risk that it’ll spread and attack the lymphatic system increases which is why it makes it more dangerous. Mild forms of skin cancer, such as basal cell carcenoma, are just removed from the body with no cancer treatment following that, so her’s may just be that kind. You may tell her you’re concerned and just ask her what type of skin cancer she has. You’re a good friend . My husband had stage 2B of melanoma (survival rate of 50-60%) but he recently overcame it so we’re just hoping it doesn’t come back. There are life expectancy rates on the internet and those spooked my husband but then there were many other factors that contribute to cancer that only a doctor would be able to tell and those will alter anything that can be read on the internet. I hope everything goes well with your friend!