Reaching Milestones After Cancer
- “Journey” frontman Steve Perry, 75, celebrates the iconic rock song he voiced back in 1981 – “Don’t Stop Believin’,” which was named the “Biggest Song of All Time” by Forbes. The accomplishment comes 11 years after he was diagnosed with melanoma, a type of skin cancer.
- Melanoma starts in the same cells that give your skin, hair, and eyes their color. It can spread to other organs and most often develops on sun-exposed areas of skin. However, it can also develop in areas that rarely receive sunlight.
- Surgery is the likely treatment for melanoma, which can remove the cancer if caught early. For early-stage melanoma, Mohs surgery, which removes skin cancer layer by layer, is an option.
- Reaching milestones during or after a cancer battle matters. Milestones may include things like getting engaged or reaching another birthday, except they may mean even more than they did previously. Hence, taking them all in is important, and celebrating all you’ve overcome is important.
“Journey” frontman Steve Perry, 75, celebrated a monumental milestone a little more than a decade after battling skin cancer. Journey’s iconic hit “Don’t Stop Believin” was named “The Biggest Song of All Time” by Forbes. Perry notes he was “emotionally stunned” by the great honor.
“To be part of such a moment as this made me reflect on my parents,” Perry wrote in an Instagram post.
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“You rock, Steve Perry…your sense of melody and vocal delivery on this song is perfection!!! There will only be one Steve Perry, and that is you!” Instagram user and fellow musician Chris Impellitteri commented.
“I’m 54 with a 13-year-old daughter, and Journey is her favorite band. She loves every song on every album. We’ve never stopped listening, and I’m positive this song will live on for many more generations,” Instagram user Lori McCoy commented.
For cancer survivors, reaching a memorable milestone, such as creating a record-breaking music hit, is always worth celebrating. Examples of these milestones can be the birth of a child, getting married, or a birthday.
According to Cancer.net, patients and their support groups filled with loved ones may engage in some activities to help recognize and celebrate memorable milestones. These activities include planning a nice dinner or party-like gathering and spending time donating money or volunteering to a cancer charity. Perhaps the way you memorialize your cancer milestone could be independent of others. Examples include a solitary walk-in nature and allowing your senses to take hold while you reflect.
Helping You Cope With Skin Cancer
Steve Perry’s Cancer Journey
Perry shared with fans he was diagnosed with skin cancer in June 2013.
“Three weeks ago, a routine mole was taken off my face, and the lab report came back melanoma skin cancer,” he wrote on his Fan Asylum personal blog.
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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.
According to SurvivorNet’s experts, changes to a mole you’ve had for a while or a new growth on your skin could be signs of melanoma. You’ll want to watch for them and tell your doctor about any changes you notice.
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
SurvivorNet experts recommend avoiding unprotected sun exposure because ultraviolet (UV) radiation can lead to melanoma. Tanning beds pose ultraviolet radiation risks for skin cancer and should be avoided. Many dermatologists recommend using spray tans to reduce the risk of melanoma skin cancer.
SurvivorNet’s medical experts say the most important thing to look for when it comes to finding melanoma is a new spot on your skin or a spot that is changing in size, shape, or color.
WATCH: Helping you learn the signs of skin cancer.
Treatment options for melanoma 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.
The type of surgery procedure recommended may be Mohs surgery. This is the most common surgery option in areas such as the face, ears, and nose.
Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) is a microscopically controlled procedure that removes skin cancer by conservatively cutting along the entire margin until the surgeon reaches clear tissue. It’s used more commonly to remove other skin cancers, such as basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas.
During the procedure, your doctor will numb the area with anesthesia and remove the tumor using a scalpel. You’ll be asked to wait while they analyze layers of the removed sample under a microscope. The procedure is done one layer at a time, analyzing each layer for cancer cells before removing the next layer.
This process continues until all cancer cells are removed from the area.
Cancer removal usually leads to a cure in the early stages of the disease.
WATCH: Best surgery option for melanoma.
For melanoma patients who need additional treatment after surgery, they are likely to receive adjuvant therapy (treatments administered after surgery). Adjuvant therapy is designed to improve outcomes and decrease the risk of recurrence. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved some adjuvant therapy treatments for melanoma, which include:
- Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) – This medication is an immunotherapy that helps your immune system attack and kill cancer cells. It is a PD1 inhibitor drug that works by blocking the PD1 pathway used by cancer cells to hide from the immune system.
- Nivolumab (Opdivo) – Another form of immunotherapy, nivolumab is a PD1 inhibitor that works similarly to pembrolizumab.
- Dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) combination – This is a targeted therapy combo for patients with a BRAF V600E/K mutation fueling their cancer. About 50% of melanomas have BRAF mutations.
- Ipilimumab (Yervoy) – This medication is also an immunotherapy. Ipilimumab works by blocking CTLA4 protein, which is found normally on T-cells, and keeps immune cells alert to fight off cancer cells and stop their growth.
- Interferon alpha (FDA-approved, but no longer recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Melanoma Panel.)
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
If you are diagnosed with skin cancer, you may have some questions for your doctor. SurvivorNet suggests some of the following to help you on your cancer journey.
- What type of skin cancer do I have?
- What treatment options exist for my type of melanoma?
- Will insurance cover this treatment?
- Would treatment through a clinical trial make sense for me?
- What resources exist to help manage my anxiety because of this diagnosis?
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
