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- Melanoma In-Situ- Should You Worry?
Melanoma In-Situ- Should You Worry?
“Stage 0 melanoma, or melanoma in situ, is highly curable. There is very little risk for recurrence or metastasis. The 5-year survival rate as of 2018 for local melanoma, including Stage 0, is 98.4%.”
Melanoma in-situ, technically speaking, is cancer. However, the issue is your risk of this skin growth causing health problems. The risk of melanoma in situ metastasizing or becoming a serious melanoma diagnosis, is small.
“In situ – Latin for “in place,” this typically means good news since it refers to a cancerous but noninvasive tumor that has not penetrated beyond the epidermis into the dermis. But even skin cancers diagnosed in the early stages can be painful or cause scarring and may require multiple treatments. In situ skin cancers can also become invasive if not removed in a timely way.”
I am a long-term survivor of a blood cancer called multiple myeloma. My conventional MM therapies of an autologous stem cell transplant increased my already increased risk of skin cancer.
I have learned the hard way, that conventional therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation have strengths and weaknesses, pros and cons. Chemotherapy and radiation are highly toxic, aggressive cancer therapies. In the case of melanoma stage 0, I believe that the toxicity of chemo or radiation could cause many more problems that they solve.
Therefore, in the case of melanoma in-situ, the risk of metastasis, not to mention the risk of death, is so small that I believe the best therapies are evidence-based but non-toxic.
To put this “risk” into evidence-based terms with therapies, according to research, the two most effective therapies to reduce the risk of early cancer becoming serious melanoma that can cause problems is to:
- Surgically remove the growth
- Nutrition, supplementation and lifestyle therapies
Evidence-based but non-toxic, non-conventional therapies such:
- Curcumin
- Green Tea Extract
- Vitamin D3
- Resveratrol
- Milk Thistle
- Omega-3
- etc.
- Anti-angiogenic nutrition
- Exercise
have been shown to reduce the already small risk of a melanoma diagnosis.
I have been researching and writing about melanoma for years now. Consider thinking outside of the conventional oncology box:
- Melanoma- definition, treatment, survival rates
- Malignant Melanoma- Integrative Therapies Enhance Outcomes
- Diagnosed with Melanoma? Get a Second Opinion!
- High-Risk for Melanoma? Reduce Your Risks Now
- Lymph node Surgery in Melanoma Does Not Result in Longer Survival-
- Enhance Conventional Treatment of Metastatic Melanoma
- Anti-Angiogenis for Disease-free Survival in Melanoma
- Melanoma Survivors Risk Secondary Cancers
- Radon Gas-Risk of Malignant Melanoma
To summarize, if you have been diagnosed with melanoma stage 0 or in situ, no you don’t have to worry. Take your health more seriously, yes. Consume a nutrition-dense diet. Exercise moderately but frequently. And supplement with the nutritional supplements listed above.
If you have any questions or comments, scroll down the page and send me a post. I will reply to you ASAP. In the meantime, thanks for your time and attention.
David Emerson
- Cancer Survivor
- Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Stage 0 Melanoma
“When melanoma is Stage 0, sometimes referred to as ‘melanoma in situ,’ cancer cells have breached only the epidermis (the very outer layer of the skin). Stage 0 melanoma is contained completely in this layer and has not yet moved into the deeper layers of skin. It is considered local melanoma (this group also includes Stage I and Stage II melanoma)…
Treatment: Stage 0 melanoma is removed surgically, with minimal but clear margins. This is sometimes called an excision. Wide local excision, a minor surgery, usually cures local melanoma…
Prognosis: Stage 0 melanoma, or melanoma in situ, is highly curable. There is very little risk for recurrence or metastasis. The 5-year survival rate as of 2018 for local melanoma, including Stage 0, is 98.4%. Click here to learn more about melanoma survival rates.
Follow-Up Care: After being treated for Stage 0 melanoma, you should conduct regular self-exams of your skin and lymph nodes and have an annual, full-body skin exam performed by a trained dermatologist for the rest of your life. Imaging tests may be ordered as needed to monitor for recurrence.”
Enhanced anti-tumor activity of a new curcumin-related compound against melanoma
“Conclusions-In summary, we have demonstrated that hydroxylated biphenyls structurally related to curcumin are a class of molecules worth to be studied for its promising antiproliferative and proapoptotic features. Moreover, although a large selection of curcumin analogues have been published and tested as antitumoral agents [39], no examples of hydroxylated biphenyl curcumin-related have been published before.
Specifically, D6 activity seems to be effective, rapid, and selective against both NB and Malignant Melanoma cells, by causing apoptosis in vitro and reduction of tumor mass growth in mice models in vivo. Such an antiproliferative activity seems to be achieved using lower concentrations than curcumin. As a consequence, D6 could be considered a good candidate to develop new therapeutic strategies against tumors with neuroectodermal origin…”
A Healthy Diet May Prevent Melanoma Recurrence
“IF YOU’RE A melanoma survivor, you know that early detection and treatment are critical, since the five-year-survival rate for people with melanoma that’s detected early is about 98 percent, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. In addition to watching your sun exposure, you can decrease your risk of developing skin cancer or its recurrence through healthy eating. Here, the best foods to reach for…”
Scientists discover role for vitamin D in melanoma
“A new study published in Cancer Research on November 6, 2019, from Cancer Research UK suggests that vitamin D may reduce the aggressive nature of melanoma cells, and improve survival rates.
Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that is deadly but relatively rare in the population. This aggressive disease accounts for the majority of deaths due to skin cancer. Each year 16,000 patients are newly diagnosed with melanoma each year in the UK, with about 300 of these being advanced-stage cancer.
With the advancement of treatment methods, the survival rate has doubled over the past 40 years. Despite this, advanced stage melanoma has a 1-year survival rate of just 55%, compared to almost 100% for those whose cancer is picked up very early…
Melanoma patients often avoid sunlight, to prevent exposing their skin to solar ultraviolet rays, and are therefore at a higher risk of being vitamin D-deficient. Conversely, a higher level of vitamin D in the blood is linked to smaller tumors and better outcomes. However, the mechanism responsible for this finding is unknown…
Martin Ledwick from Cancer Research UK pointed out that the National Health Service (NHS) already advises that people take 10 micrograms of vitamin D every day to maintain good muscle and bone health, more particularly during winter when sunlight exposure is low.
Ledwick says that if melanoma has been recently diagnosed, the patient should have a serum Vitamin D measurement done to guide management. If the level of this vitamin is low, a medical consultation should be done to prevent ill-effects due to this deficiency, as vitamin D levels can be increased by diet or supplements…”