A sobering report from the Cleveland Clinic has found that melanoma is five times more deadly for women who are pregnant or had given birth within the year. “We saw significant, worse prognoses and outcomes for women with a pregnancy-associated melanoma, compared to a control group of non-pregnant women,” stated primary author and plastic surgeon Brian Gastman. Obviously, the female human… Read more »
Today marks the year anniversary of my excision. It’s strange how time can fly. It seems like that day was long ago and yet, also feel like it was only yesterday. It’s been a year of worry, fear, sadness, and pain (literal and metaphorical); but it’s also been a year of acceptance, happiness, hope, and even joy. The excision removed… Read more »
My previous post talked about the history of using the immune T-cells in the fight against cancer. I’m picking up the thread of the story where the human experiments began… A small pharmaceutical company approached by researcher Jim Allison, Medarex, decided to begin human trials using patients diagnosed with malignant melanoma. Melanoma sometimes responds to immunotherapy treatment. The first experiments… Read more »
I just read a story about an 8-year-old in Michigan who was diagnosed with Stage 3 melanoma. I cannot imagine how scary that must be for the parents. Although not common – less than 2 percent, skin cancer can strike young children. It’s important for parents to keep an eye out, looking for any changes in their children’s skin. The… Read more »
There was a recent article on Prevention.com about a doctor’s advice to avoid cancer. The usual suspects were there: avoid stress (could someone explain how in modern society we can avoid stress? Maybe we can mitigate it but there’s really no way to completely avoid it…); exercise regularly; and volunteering. But one of the items concerned mold, specifically the types… Read more »
Antioxidants have been promoted as being wonder substances, capable of fighting aging, cancer, and all kinds of other harmful things. But a new report from the researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center suggests the opposite – antioxidants may promote the growth of cancer – in mice. The researchers transplanted melanoma cells treated with antioxidants or nothing to… Read more »
I had my nine month check up yesterday. As always, it’s a bit of nervous tension in the room, which I try my best to defuse by saying ridiculously inappropriate things. Making the doctor and her assistant laugh is my goal. I’m hoping that they will be extra vigilant in checking out things in order to keep me around to make… Read more »
So, I will say up front, there’s a strong likelihood of salty language in this post. There is a “trend” of acquiring a sunburn in a pattern and calling it #sunburnart. First of all, I’m going to say this the clearest way possible – these people are idiots. Sunburn is never “art”. Sunburn is skin damage. Sunburn is painful. Sunburn… Read more »
Michael Flatley, the Irish dancer most well-known for Riverdance, was diagnosed in 2003 with malignant melanoma. He states in an article in the Irish Mirror that his diagnosis prompted him to take a hard look at his life and reevaluate his priorities. Wealth and material things were no longer as important as his family, friends, and his art. Getting a… Read more »
I just read an article on sneaky ways you get more sun exposure than you may think. Some of them are pretty obvious when you think about it: driving, sitting by a window at work or on a plane. But things like your scalp? I mean, I wear a hat all the time because I have the thinnest hair imaginable;… Read more »