63-Year-Old Dad’s Skin Turns Yellow On Vacation, Turns Out To Be Stage 4 Melanoma

Melanoma: Later Stage Treatment

Bennett, who has has continued working and staying fit despite his cancer diagnosis, recounted his story in a recent interview with Edinburgh Live, explaining how before a trip to Portugal he noticed a change in the color of his urine and after the vacation, his daughter noticed his skin was yellow.

His altered skin and urine color prompted him to get checked at a nearby hospital, ultimately revealing he had late-stage melanoma.

Bennett, whose tumor is reportedly shrinking as he undergoes monthly treatment, told, Edinburgh Live, “I noticed things weren’t right before we left for a short holiday. I hadn’t told my wife at that point because I was desperate to get away because I had been working so hard.

“Two days in, I wasn’t feeling well. I had no energy and appetite. When my daughter picked us up from the airport she said I looked yellow. I had a scan and they found a mass on my pancreas. I had skin cancer but it formed on my pancreas.

RELATED: ‘A Game Changer’: New Combination Immunotherapy for Advanced Melanoma Offers More Options For Patients

“When I found out I was distraught because I felt like it was the end for me. I didn’t have a lot of clear symptoms so it was a big shock when I found out. The treatment has quietened everything down and stabilized the tumour. They told me I can have the treatment for two years and after that the therapy will stay in the body and continue to fight it.”

Bennett, who admitted to being inspired to cycle and raise money by eleven-time world champion and a six-time Olympic champion Chris Hoy, also took to his GoFundMe page to share some insight on his cancer fight.

RELATED: Battling Cancer, Six-Time Olympic Champion Fights Through “Long Hard Winter”– Amazing Biking

He wrote, “Stage 4 simply means it has moved from initial site to another part in your body. I have Melanoma (skin cancer) that chose not to be on my skin and decided to head to my pancreas.

“Around the same time, Sir Chris Hoy was diagnosed with stage 4 and decided to do something positive for his own mindset and to raise awareness and support of people who have stage 4 cancer. I’m riding a 38-mile journey toward his vision.”

Bennett continued, “So here comes my pitch to all my friends. I have signed up to Maggie’s [Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centers] to raise some money for research and effectively helping people like me. If I’m honest, the money I raise is furthest from my mind. I’m doing this just because I can and want to.

“My Oncologist and doctor suggested ‘some light walking’ for exercise …. his didn’t quite cut it for me. I’m currently training between mountain and road bikes and hitting the 20-mile mark at present. Aiming for 38 miles as this is distance for the challenge.”

Understanding Melanoma

Melanoma starts in the same cells that give your skin, hair, and eyes their color. In melanoma, the cells change in a way that allows them to spread to other organs.

Changes to a mole you’ve had for a while or a new growth on your skin could be signs of melanoma.

You’re most likely to find melanoma on sun-exposed skin areas like your face, neck, arms, and legs. Surprisingly, you might also find them in other places as well, like:

• The palms of your hands or soles of your feet
• On your eyes or mouth
• Under your nails

The top way to protect yourself is by staying out of the sun, especially during peak hours, and avoiding unprotected sun exposure because ultraviolet (UV) radiation can lead to melanoma.

According to experts like Dr. Anna Pavlick, an oncologist at NYU’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, tanning beds pose ultraviolet radiation risks for skin cancer and should be avoided completely.

RELATED: How Do I Know My Skin Cancer is Gone?

Dr. Pavlick notes that people who are covered with moles stand a higher risk of developing skin cancer, especially people with dysplastic nevis syndrome, or “atypical” moles.

Atypical moles are those that are unusual-looking and, when seen under a microscope, they have irregular features. Although usually benign, a high number of atypical moles do signal an increased risk for melanoma, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation which says people with 10 or more atypical moles have 12 times higher risk of developing melanoma.

Warning Signs of Skin Cancer – Remember ABDCE

The most important thing to look out for when it comes to finding melanoma is a sudden, new spot on your skin or a spot that is quickly changing in size, shape, or color.

Dr. Cecelia Larocca, a dermatologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, recommends implementing the ABCDE rule to determine if a mole requires further examination.

The ABCDE rule:

• A: Asymmetry of the mole, or when one half of the mole doesn’t match the other
• B: Border irregularity or Bleeding
• C: Color change either lightening or darkening of a mole
• D: Diameter greater than 6mm or enlarging moles
• E: Evolving size, shape or color.

WATCH: Dr. Cecila Larocca on the ABCDEs of checking moles for signs of skin cancer

Melanoma that moves into the body, away from the skin, becomes an entirely different treatment journey for patients.

Treatment options for melanoma that has spread include targeted therapy and immunotherapy, which give people a better chance of living a long and healthy life than ever before. If you’re diagnosed with melanoma, there’s a good chance surgery will be the treatment your doctor recommends.

Cancer removal usually leads to a cure in the early stages of the disease. After surgery, the removed tissue and lymph nodes are examined to measure the melanoma and determine if it has clear margins. Clear margins mean the cells around the area of tissue that was removed don’t contain any melanoma.

When no cancer cells are left around the removed area, your cancer is less likely to return.

Melanoma Treatment Options

Melanoma treatment has come a long way. Survival rates have risen dramatically, thanks to a “treatment revolution,” say SurvivorNet’s experts. With breakthrough treatments like targeted therapy and immunotherapy now available, people who are diagnosed today have a much better chance of living a long and healthy life than ever before.

If you’re diagnosed with melanoma, there’s a good chance surgery is going to be the treatment your doctor recommends. In the early stages of the disease, removing the cancer should lead to a cure. The question is typically not whether you’ll get surgery, but which kind you’ll have.

WATCH: Dermatologic Surgeon Dr. Nima Gharavi, On The “Gold Standard Treatment” For Melanoma

For an early-stage melanoma that is close to the skin surface, Mohs surgery might be an option. This technique removes skin cancer, layer by layer, until all the cancer is gone.

In general, stage I melanoma surgery consists of the simple, in-office removal of the cancerous cells by a dermatologist. If the cancer is thicker, your surgeon will remove it through a technique called wide excision surgery.

The removal of stage II and III melanomas are performed by surgeons or surgical oncologists, not dermatologists. You may also have a sentinel lymph node biopsy to see if the melanoma has spread to the first lymph node where it’s most likely to travel. If your cancer has reached this first lymph node, it may have spread to other neighboring lymph nodes, and possibly to other organs. Where the cancer is will dictate your treatment.

After surgery, the removed tissue and lymph nodes will go to a specialist called a pathologist, who will measure the melanoma and find out if it has clear margins. Having clear margins means the cells around the area of tissue that was removed don’t contain any melanoma. When there aren’t any cancer cells left around the removed area, your cancer is less likely to come back.

Once your cancer spreads, treatment gets a little more complicated, but there are still ways to stop it. New treatments have vastly improved the outlook for people with metastatic, or stage IV, melanoma.

Targeted drugs and immunotherapy have been shown to be more effective than chemotherapy. So, with many more choices, there is no standard treatment. Treatment will vary based on your condition and whether there is recurrent disease.

Immunotherapy Helps Your Body Help Itself

Research has found that immunotherapy drugs such as Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and Opdivo (nivolumab) helped some people live longer. Combining immunotherapy drugs Yervoy (ipilimumab) and Opdivo (nivolumab) has also extended survival. Opdivo (nivolumab) + relatlimab is a new therapy option added to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines in 2022.  The combination of two immunotherapies is called Opdualag.

For those with the BRAF mutation, targeted drugs which shrink or slow the tumor can be a good option. This could include a combination of drugs, such as:

• Zelboraf (vemurafenib) and Cotellic (cobimetinib)
• Braftovi (encorafenib) and Mektovi (binimetinib)
• Tafinlar (dabrafenib) and Mekinist (trametinib)
• Zelboraf (vemurafenib) and Cotellic (cobimetinib) can also be combined with atezolizumab.

“Every patient is different and every situation is different,” says Dr. Anna Pavlick, medical oncologist at Weill Cornell Medicine. She emphasized that “there is no cookie-cutter recipe,” for treating stage IV melanoma.

There Is No “Cookie Cutter Recipe” for Treating Stage Four Melanoma

Dr. Pavlick also notes the importance of personalized care and treatment. “It really is a matter of looking at the tools we have so that we can pick the right tools to give the patient the best outcome.”

So, while there is no one-size-fits-all approach to treating metastatic melanoma, your doctor will work with you to develop a treatment plan that is tailored to your individual situation. Advances in research and technology are making the fight against metastatic melanoma more hopeful than ever.

Do What You Love During & After Cancer

During cancer treatment, and also after, it can be hard to focus on anything except your treatment or the challenges that follow a cancer battle. However, it’s important to take a moment and focus on something that makes you genuinely happy.

Experts recommend you try to take some time out of your day a few times a week and really enjoy those special pockets of joy.

“We know from good studies that emotional health is associated with survival, meaning better quality of life is associated with better outcomes,” Dr. Dana Chase, a gynecologic oncologist at Arizona Oncology, previously told SurvivorNet.

“So working on your emotional health, your physical well-being, your social environment [and] your emotional well-being are important and can impact your survival. If that’s related to what activities you do that bring you joy, then you should try to do more of those activities.”

Dr. Dana Chase Encourages Those Facing Cancer to Find Moments of Joy During Treatment

Keeping Fit and Managing Stress

Just as a healthy and balanced diet is always important, staying fit with regular exercise has a numerous benefits for cancer warriors and their loved ones alike.

“The more physically fit you are going through your cancer treatment, the fewer side effects you’ll have and the faster you;’ll get back to your normal quality of life,” Dr. Sairah Ahmed told SurvivorNet. Dr. Ahmed is an associate professor in the Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma, Division of Cancer Medicine, at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The Role of Diet and Exercise in Cancer Risk

Far from just physical fitness, Dr. Ahmed emphasizes the importance of emotional strength—both for patients and their loved ones.

“Stress control is often something that is not talked about and is not given much weight, but there is a lot of stress, both in terms of the patient who’s going through cancer, as well as the family who has to support that patient,” she says.

Of course, there are health worries. But there are so many more challenging factors to tackle, too.

Staying Active After a Cancer Diagnosis

“There’s financial stress, there’s emotional stress, and being able to deal with that as well as talk to professionals when you need it, is very important,” she says. “Staying on cancer treatment is the one thing that will help to cure your disease, and if you are so sad or so overwhelmed that that doesn’t happen, then you’re actually going to compromise your cancer treatment.”

She recommends preparing for “stress” and seeking professional support if needed, as a key piece of preparing for cancer treatment.

Living a Healthy Lifestyle

We’re delighted to know Bennett is maintaining a healthy lifestyle after his stage 4 melanoma diagnosis—and the general recommendations for a healthy lifestyle are the same whether you have cancer or not. Dr. Ken Miller, the Director of Outpatient Oncology at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, has some guidelines for cancer survivors who are concerned about a recurrence:

1. Exercise at least two hours a week and walking counts.

RELATED: Major Reduction in Cancer Risk by Following Old Standbys Diet and Exercise

2. Eat a low-fat diet. The Women’s Intervention Nutrition Study, which looked at early-stage breast cancer patients, found that a low-fat diet was associated with reduced risk for cancer recurrence, particularly in those with estrogen receptor-negative cancers. Other studies have found that foods with a high glycemic index that are digested quickly and cause a spike in blood sugar may lead to tumor growth in lung cancer patients.

3. Eat a colorful diet with lots of fruits and vegetables. The American Cancer Society recommends aiming for two to three cups of vibrant vegetables and fruits each day.

4. Maintain a healthy weight. Studies have shown that being obese can increase your risk for several types of cancer.

The National Cancer Institute recommends cancer survivors maintain “some level of physical activity.”

The NCI cites a 2018 report by the American College of Sports Medicine International Multidisciplinary Roundtable on Physical Activity and Cancer Prevention and Control, which found “strong evidence that moderate-intensity aerobic training and/or resistance exercise during and after cancer treatment can reduce anxiety, depressive symptoms, and fatigue and improve health-related quality of life and physical function.”

Additional research published in “Cancers” last year noted that “Physical activity has been shown to reduce the side effects of treatment and fatigue in cancer patients.”

“Lack of exercise actually begets fatigue,” Dr. Marleen Meyers, a medical oncologist and Director of the Cancer Survivorship Program at NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet in a previous conversation about how to deal with some of chemo’s most challenging side effects.

“So the best treatment for fatigue is exercise. And what we have to do is get people over the hump, to get initial exercise going.” Dr. Meyers treats patients with breast cancer, but she said her advice applies to many other cancers as well.

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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