How long till melanoma becomes deadly

Doctors may use traditional methods to treat stage 4 melanoma. These include surgery, radiation therapy , and chemotherapy. Newer methods of treatment for stage 4 melanoma include immunotherapy and targeted therapy. These treatments specifically target and destroy the cancer cells, avoiding damage to surrounding healthy cells. In about half of all melanoma cases , there are mutations or genetic changes in a gene called the BRAF gene.

People with melanoma who have this mutated gene can use targeted therapy drugs called BRAF inhibitors. These medicines attack the BRAF protein and shrink or slow the growth of the cancer cells. People can do a few things to make it easier to cope with a stage 4 melanoma diagnosis, the treatment, and the post-treatment journey:. Treatment can completely cure melanoma in many cases, especially when it has not spread extensively.

However, melanoma can also recur. It is natural to have questions about the treatment, its side effects, and the chances of cancer recurring. People with concerns should discuss them with a doctor who can offer advice that takes their medical history and overall health into account.

Stage 4 melanoma is much more treatable today than it was a few decades ago. Monitoring moles and skin changes can help a person catch melanoma in the early stages and reduce the risk of it spreading. With melanomas, chemotherapy is used as palliative treatment to try to control the growth of the cancer and relieve symptoms. Chemotherapy usually does not cure melanomas.

Biological therapies are treatments using substances made naturally by the body. Some of these treatments are called immunotherapy because they help the immune system fight the cancer, or they occur naturally as part of the immune system. There are many biological therapies being researched and trialled, which in the future may help treat people with melanoma. They include monoclonal antibodies and vaccine therapy. Radiotherapy treats melanomas by using radiation to destroy or injure cancer cells.

The radiation can be targeted onto cancer sites in your body. Treatment is carefully planned to do as little harm as possible to your normal body tissue.

You will probably have radiotherapy once a day from Monday to Friday over several weeks, with a break on the weekends. The number of visits you need to make will depend on the size and type of the melanoma and on your general health. The treatment itself only takes a few minutes and is not painful.

Radiotherapy treatment for melanoma does not make you radioactive, so it's quite safe to be close to your partner, children and others during the course of treatment. It's common for people with cancer to seek out complementary or alternative treatments. When used alongside your conventional cancer treatment, some of these therapies can make you feel better and improve your quality of life. Others may not be so helpful and in some cases may be harmful. It is important to tell all your healthcare professionals about any complementary medicines you are taking.

Never stop taking your conventional treatment without consulting your doctor first. All treatments can have side effects. These days, new treatments are available that can help to make many side effects much less severe than they were in the past. Ninety per cent of Victorians are alive 5 years after a diagnosis of melanoma. The prognosis is better for women than for men. Your medical history is unique, so you will need to discuss with your doctor what you can expect and the treatment options that are best for you.

If your cancer has spread and it is not possible to cure it by surgery, your doctor may still recommend treatment. In this case, treatment may help to relieve symptoms, might make you feel better and may allow you to live longer. Whether or not you choose to have anti-cancer treatment, symptoms can still be controlled. For example, if you have pain, there are effective treatments for this. General practitioners, specialists and palliative care teams in hospitals all play important roles in helping people with cancer.

Most people treated for early melanoma do not have further trouble with the disease. However, when there is a chance that the melanoma may have spread to other parts of your body, you will need regular check-ups. Your doctor will decide how often you will need check-ups — everyone is different. They will become less frequent if you have no further problems.

After treatment for melanoma it is important to limit exposure to the sun's UV radiation. Melanoma should never be underestimated, but treating a tumor early rather than after it is allowed to progress could be lifesaving. Leland Fay, 46, understands better than most the seriousness of this distinction. When the Monument, Colorado native was diagnosed with melanoma in , he was given a bleak prognosis due to the advanced stage of the tumor — it had already reached stage IV.

But the mole resurfaced, bigger than it had been originally. After a biopsy and imaging tests, doctors told Leland it was melanoma, and that it had already spread. He could have as few as six weeks to live. He still goes in for treatments, but five years after his diagnosis, he is leading an active, full life.

Cancer survival by stage at diagnosis for England, Office for National Statistics. These statistics are for net survival. Net survival estimates the number of people who survive their cancer rather than calculating the number of people diagnosed with cancer who are still alive.

In other words, it is the survival of cancer patients after taking into account that some people would have died from other causes if they had not had cancer. Without age standardisation, the survival differences between the 4 stage groups can be influenced by the age of the people in each stage group, in addition to their disease progression or treatment.

We should not use these non age-standardised figures to compare survival with other groups, such as different cancer types, stages, or populations from other countries. Your outlook depends on the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed. This means how deeply it has grown into the skin and whether it has spread. Survival is better for women than it is for men.