Has anybody recovered from melanoma skin cancer?

i had this 4 years ago,and i had an opperation to have a deep mole removed.it was malignant melanoma,ive since been every 3 months for checkups,wat can i expect now for the future.genuine answers only please

Sen John McCain is probably the most famous melanoma survivor. He has had two bouts with the disease and appears to be doing pretty well today.

http://www.thedoctorsdoctor.com/Diseases...

The regular checkups, lots of sunscreen, always wearing a hat and a good attitude will help you beat a recurrence, so keep your chin up and get on with life. Sen McCain did.

Just keep up with the checkups. 5yrs is the mark to say you are cancer free but that is a guide line. I would get checked the rest of my life just to be sure. You might want to go every 6 mo. after your 5 yrs. Congratulations on the 4 yr mark. Your almost there. As for the future no one can say what that will bring. Honestly.

Lots of people have melanomas removed and continue to lead long, healthy lives. Sometimes they may have another one removed again years later, and still be fine. I had one taken off my foot 7 years ago, and it required a plastic surgeon and a follow-up CT scan - but luckily no radiation or chemo. Also, I will be visiting the dermatologist a minimum of once a year for the rest of my life for a skin check, but it's a small price to pay.

Something else you need to do is visit an eye doctor - not an optometrist, but an opthamologist who treats eye diseases. Melanomas can recur anywhere in your body later in life, inluding your eyes.

Also, you are no longer a candidate for being on the giving side of organ donation of any kind. There have been cases of people receiving organs and dying of melanoma in the transplanted organ. Upon investigation of these cases, it turned out that the givers all had one thing in common: melanomas years before, even on different parts of the body than the tranplanted organ. What happens is the immune-suppressing drugs the receiver must take to keep from rejecting the organ allow the dormant melanoma in the organ to rapidly grow. In most of the cases I read about, it grew so fast that it was too late when it was discovered.

Stay out of the sun, keep up with your skin checks, and educate everyone you can.

Congratulations on being a survivor!! Questions that you have about any type of cancer and what to expect during and after treatment may be answered at www.cancer.org That's the website of the American Cancer Society. The site is very user-friendly and if you need one-on-one information you can also call 1-800-ACS-2345.

:)