melanoma, stage 4

Well here’s my cancer story, finally got it out. First diagnose with malignant melanoma in 1996 whilst working in Bangkok. Prognosis, ‘poor’ but 5 year survival rate 97.5%. Skin tumour removed, no other treatment, only monitoring, (physical exam and chest x-ray). Returned to UK in 1997, had a couple of years of consultant monitoring at West Middlesex Hospital, (no specialised scans), then handed back to GP care. My GP was very considerate but did not really understand melanoma, (my original tumour was above my navel and, ‘melanoma always travels upwards in this situation’). In the 7 years since discharged by consultant no medical intervention to track progress, or lack of, of my disease. I found it myself in May 2007 a week before I was relocating to Singapore with my family to work. My GP said the lumps in my groin were probably nothing to worry about and I shouldn’t change my plans, (melanoma travels upwards........). I got to Singapore at the end of May, leaving wife and daughter behind until the end of term. I immediately got my lumps checked out by a surgeon at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore. After biopsy he confirmed the presence of metastatic malignant melanoma! A PET scan showed only localised to lymph glands in my right groin and recommended operating, an oncologist supported this recommendation so on 8 June 2007 I had major ‘robot assisted’ surgery to remove the tumours. I cringe at the numbers removed and the number infected, I even have Polaroid’s of the tumours! The op all went well and all the disease removed, I have nothing but praise and gratitude for the medical team, care and after care I received in Singapore, and luckily it was all covered by my grown up employers insurance. The medics in Singapore recommended I have follow up adjuvant treatment with Interferon to try to kill/suppress any remaining metastases that scans would not illuminate. And I should start this intense treatment in the UK, where it is more common. But not available on the NHS as the cost/effectiveness ratio is poor, nice! The Royal Marsden wouldn’t treat me and I eventually found a melanoma specialist who would treat me at London Bridge Hospital, (luckily again covered by employers insurance for initial treatment, 6 weeks, in UK and follow up back in Singapore, the treatment lasts one year). So I returned to UK at end of June and started treatment in July, once my op wound had healed enough. The wound did not fully heal until December 2007! We decided to stay in the UK and my previous employer offered me my old job back, complete with medical insurance. Interferon is pretty grim treatment, had almost continuous flu symptoms, fatigue and mild depression and what's worse it didn’t work! On Christmas day 2007 I had a mild stroke and the routine chest x-ray suggested tumours in my lungs. My oncologist sent me off for a PET scan and sure enough the metastases had reappeared and their extent was really depressing, lungs, liver, spine and hip. Stopped the interferon and immediately started chemotherapy, surgery and radiation not being an option. I had eight cycles of chemo from Jan to June 2008 and was in remission from cycle 3! Unfortunately a routine PET scan in Sept 2008 again showed the return of tumours, this time not as extensive thankfully only in my lungs. So a second course of chemo started, three times as intense as last, 3 days of infusions with 3 chemo drugs every 3 weeks. Six cycles of this and PET scan showed partial remission in early Feb 09, again! Decided to look at an alternate therapy with a radical medical therapist to try to sustain my remission, supported by my Oncologist. I had the consultation and agreed the therapy but almost immediately afterwards I developed headaches and started throwing up. Scans showed brain tumours, decided to go for whole brain radiotherapy at Cromwell Hospital, finished mid March, waiting game now for a couple of weeks.