help

The biggest thing you can do is to be there to support him as he navigates the information and treatments options. If you can, maybe go to doctors appointments with him so there's a second set of ears to hear the information and a second mind to ask questions. It can be really overwhelming to get all of the information and many people forget what the doctor said or are so overwhelmed they can't come up with questions even though they don't really understand what was said. Research can be very confusing and overwhelming, especially at the beginning. This is a pretty good site to look around and get info but recognize that every case is different so what worked in one case may not be the best for another. 

Is your brother seeing a melanoma specialist, or a local oncologist? If he's not seeing a specialist and there is one you can get to I strongly suggest getting a referal or making your own appointment. Especially since he's stage IV and with a brain met. I am also stage IV and have 7 brain mets. I go back and forth between my local oncologist and a specialist (the specialist is too far away for me to see at every visit). While I really like my local oncologist the specialists are going to be much more current on treatment options and will also be more experienced and able to determine which options are best for individual cases. There are also some treatments that are only avialible at larger treatment centers with specialists. 

Good luck to you and your brother

The biggest thing you can do is to be there to support him as he navigates the information and treatments options. If you can, maybe go to doctors appointments with him so there's a second set of ears to hear the information and a second mind to ask questions. It can be really overwhelming to get all of the information and many people forget what the doctor said or are so overwhelmed they can't come up with questions even though they don't really understand what was said. Research can be very confusing and overwhelming, especially at the beginning. This is a pretty good site to look around and get info but recognize that every case is different so what worked in one case may not be the best for another. 

Is your brother seeing a melanoma specialist, or a local oncologist? If he's not seeing a specialist and there is one you can get to I strongly suggest getting a referal or making your own appointment. Especially since he's stage IV and with a brain met. I am also stage IV and have 7 brain mets. I go back and forth between my local oncologist and a specialist (the specialist is too far away for me to see at every visit). While I really like my local oncologist the specialists are going to be much more current on treatment options and will also be more experienced and able to determine which options are best for individual cases. There are also some treatments that are only avialible at larger treatment centers with specialists. 

Good luck to you and your brother

The biggest thing you can do is to be there to support him as he navigates the information and treatments options. If you can, maybe go to doctors appointments with him so there's a second set of ears to hear the information and a second mind to ask questions. It can be really overwhelming to get all of the information and many people forget what the doctor said or are so overwhelmed they can't come up with questions even though they don't really understand what was said. Research can be very confusing and overwhelming, especially at the beginning. This is a pretty good site to look around and get info but recognize that every case is different so what worked in one case may not be the best for another. 

Is your brother seeing a melanoma specialist, or a local oncologist? If he's not seeing a specialist and there is one you can get to I strongly suggest getting a referal or making your own appointment. Especially since he's stage IV and with a brain met. I am also stage IV and have 7 brain mets. I go back and forth between my local oncologist and a specialist (the specialist is too far away for me to see at every visit). While I really like my local oncologist the specialists are going to be much more current on treatment options and will also be more experienced and able to determine which options are best for individual cases. There are also some treatments that are only avialible at larger treatment centers with specialists. 

Good luck to you and your brother

Patrick, it is very nice and broherly of you to want to help your brother during this difficult time. This is going to be a very long and stressful journey for the both of you, but if you share the foxhole together, the inevitable ups and downs will be much easier on both of you.

There is a LOT you can do to help your brother. The first thing you can do is complete a profile on this site and update it frequently. The more we know about your brother's diagnosis and treatment history, the more help we can be.

As Eva said, just being with him during doctors' visits is very, very important to cancer patients. You can remember what the doctor said, remember to ask the quesitons that will fly out of your brother's head the minute the doctor walks in the room, remember to ask for copies of all medical reports and CDs of images, park the car, run and get him a snack while he's in the waiting room, take your cell phone outside to keep anxious relatives posted about progress, bang on the technician's desk and demand to know why your brother has been been sitting here for 90 minutes for nothing … whew! As I said, foxhole stuff.

As for research, I suggest you start with the home page of this web site, especially the link that says, "Newly diagnosed with melanoma?" Just poke around and read some things. Also poke around this forum; there is a lot of great information and personal experiences, and long-term succes stories posted here. You can also get a lot of good information from the Melanoma Internation Foundation web site. In particular, they have a great series of webinars about each of the different (and new) types of melanoma treatments.

The one thing you must NOT do is Google "melanoma"! All you will get is scare stories, misinformation, and depressing outdated statistics. Melanoma treatment has gotten much, much better in the last 3 or 4 years, so all the old information still available on the web is out of date and misleading.

This is a complex disease and the treatments are even more complex. There is lots of jargon, lots of technical stuff, lots to learn. But only by being your own health advocate (or in your case, your brother's health advocate) will you be certain that you are getting the best care available. It will take time to get up to speed– we all started off where you are now. You can and will be a great help and comfort to your brother in the months to come. Just try to take things one step at a time and remember that we are here to help.

Patrick, it is very nice and broherly of you to want to help your brother during this difficult time. This is going to be a very long and stressful journey for the both of you, but if you share the foxhole together, the inevitable ups and downs will be much easier on both of you.

There is a LOT you can do to help your brother. The first thing you can do is complete a profile on this site and update it frequently. The more we know about your brother's diagnosis and treatment history, the more help we can be.

As Eva said, just being with him during doctors' visits is very, very important to cancer patients. You can remember what the doctor said, remember to ask the quesitons that will fly out of your brother's head the minute the doctor walks in the room, remember to ask for copies of all medical reports and CDs of images, park the car, run and get him a snack while he's in the waiting room, take your cell phone outside to keep anxious relatives posted about progress, bang on the technician's desk and demand to know why your brother has been been sitting here for 90 minutes for nothing … whew! As I said, foxhole stuff.

As for research, I suggest you start with the home page of this web site, especially the link that says, "Newly diagnosed with melanoma?" Just poke around and read some things. Also poke around this forum; there is a lot of great information and personal experiences, and long-term succes stories posted here. You can also get a lot of good information from the Melanoma Internation Foundation web site. In particular, they have a great series of webinars about each of the different (and new) types of melanoma treatments.

The one thing you must NOT do is Google "melanoma"! All you will get is scare stories, misinformation, and depressing outdated statistics. Melanoma treatment has gotten much, much better in the last 3 or 4 years, so all the old information still available on the web is out of date and misleading.

This is a complex disease and the treatments are even more complex. There is lots of jargon, lots of technical stuff, lots to learn. But only by being your own health advocate (or in your case, your brother's health advocate) will you be certain that you are getting the best care available. It will take time to get up to speed– we all started off where you are now. You can and will be a great help and comfort to your brother in the months to come. Just try to take things one step at a time and remember that we are here to help.

Patrick, it is very nice and broherly of you to want to help your brother during this difficult time. This is going to be a very long and stressful journey for the both of you, but if you share the foxhole together, the inevitable ups and downs will be much easier on both of you.

There is a LOT you can do to help your brother. The first thing you can do is complete a profile on this site and update it frequently. The more we know about your brother's diagnosis and treatment history, the more help we can be.

As Eva said, just being with him during doctors' visits is very, very important to cancer patients. You can remember what the doctor said, remember to ask the quesitons that will fly out of your brother's head the minute the doctor walks in the room, remember to ask for copies of all medical reports and CDs of images, park the car, run and get him a snack while he's in the waiting room, take your cell phone outside to keep anxious relatives posted about progress, bang on the technician's desk and demand to know why your brother has been been sitting here for 90 minutes for nothing … whew! As I said, foxhole stuff.

As for research, I suggest you start with the home page of this web site, especially the link that says, "Newly diagnosed with melanoma?" Just poke around and read some things. Also poke around this forum; there is a lot of great information and personal experiences, and long-term succes stories posted here. You can also get a lot of good information from the Melanoma Internation Foundation web site. In particular, they have a great series of webinars about each of the different (and new) types of melanoma treatments.

The one thing you must NOT do is Google "melanoma"! All you will get is scare stories, misinformation, and depressing outdated statistics. Melanoma treatment has gotten much, much better in the last 3 or 4 years, so all the old information still available on the web is out of date and misleading.

This is a complex disease and the treatments are even more complex. There is lots of jargon, lots of technical stuff, lots to learn. But only by being your own health advocate (or in your case, your brother's health advocate) will you be certain that you are getting the best care available. It will take time to get up to speed– we all started off where you are now. You can and will be a great help and comfort to your brother in the months to come. Just try to take things one step at a time and remember that we are here to help.

Wishing you and your brother the very best.  Just posted the latest and greatest new information regarding brain mets from ASCO (the annual oncology meeting held in Chicago each June) on my blog, as well as my down-to-earth interpretation, on a post made June 2.  Perhaps that can help you assist in navigating treatment options. Yours, c

Wishing you and your brother the very best.  Just posted the latest and greatest new information regarding brain mets from ASCO (the annual oncology meeting held in Chicago each June) on my blog, as well as my down-to-earth interpretation, on a post made June 2.  Perhaps that can help you assist in navigating treatment options. Yours, c

Wishing you and your brother the very best.  Just posted the latest and greatest new information regarding brain mets from ASCO (the annual oncology meeting held in Chicago each June) on my blog, as well as my down-to-earth interpretation, on a post made June 2.  Perhaps that can help you assist in navigating treatment options. Yours, c

The Power of Two by Brian and Gerri Monaghan

AND

Life Over Cancer by Keith I. Block, M.D..

The Power of Two by Brian and Gerri Monaghan

AND

Life Over Cancer by Keith I. Block, M.D..

The Power of Two by Brian and Gerri Monaghan

AND

Life Over Cancer by Keith I. Block, M.D..

Hi Patrick,

Bubbles' blog very informative and concise blog entry is here, http://chaoticallypreciselifeloveandmelanoma.blogspot.com/2013/06/new-data-on-treatments-for-melanoma.html

At 8mm (if I read correctly), then there's a very good chance his doctors will recommend SRS (which Bubbles discusses). The best single learning resource I've found for that is a 1-hour webinar from last year, that is completely holds up. I've had 2 of these treatments. See http://www.melanomainternational.org/news/brain_metastases1.html.

If your brother has disease elsewhere in his body (not just brain), that may lead to other treatments in addition to (probably) SRS for the brain mets.

Hope this helps without overwhelming you or being the beginning of leading you in too many different direction.
Best wishes for your brother.
– Kyle

Hi Patrick,

Bubbles' blog very informative and concise blog entry is here, http://chaoticallypreciselifeloveandmelanoma.blogspot.com/2013/06/new-data-on-treatments-for-melanoma.html

At 8mm (if I read correctly), then there's a very good chance his doctors will recommend SRS (which Bubbles discusses). The best single learning resource I've found for that is a 1-hour webinar from last year, that is completely holds up. I've had 2 of these treatments. See http://www.melanomainternational.org/news/brain_metastases1.html.

If your brother has disease elsewhere in his body (not just brain), that may lead to other treatments in addition to (probably) SRS for the brain mets.

Hope this helps without overwhelming you or being the beginning of leading you in too many different direction.
Best wishes for your brother.
– Kyle

Hi Patrick,

Bubbles' blog very informative and concise blog entry is here, http://chaoticallypreciselifeloveandmelanoma.blogspot.com/2013/06/new-data-on-treatments-for-melanoma.html

At 8mm (if I read correctly), then there's a very good chance his doctors will recommend SRS (which Bubbles discusses). The best single learning resource I've found for that is a 1-hour webinar from last year, that is completely holds up. I've had 2 of these treatments. See http://www.melanomainternational.org/news/brain_metastases1.html.

If your brother has disease elsewhere in his body (not just brain), that may lead to other treatments in addition to (probably) SRS for the brain mets.

Hope this helps without overwhelming you or being the beginning of leading you in too many different direction.
Best wishes for your brother.
– Kyle

I missed a blog entry Bubbles made on the same day, that is a really good primer on the state of the art for treating brain mets, http://chaoticallypreciselifeloveandmelanoma.blogspot.com/2013/06/brain-mets-in-melanomathe-latest-from.html. 

It especially focuses on combining SRS with systemic treatments, and how that is improved the odds substantially for brain met patients. One mentioned several times is ipilimumab (aka Yervoy). I was given a course of it, not quite simultaneously, with my 2nd SRS treatment. 
– Kyle

I missed a blog entry Bubbles made on the same day, that is a really good primer on the state of the art for treating brain mets, http://chaoticallypreciselifeloveandmelanoma.blogspot.com/2013/06/brain-mets-in-melanomathe-latest-from.html. 

It especially focuses on combining SRS with systemic treatments, and how that is improved the odds substantially for brain met patients. One mentioned several times is ipilimumab (aka Yervoy). I was given a course of it, not quite simultaneously, with my 2nd SRS treatment. 
– Kyle

I missed a blog entry Bubbles made on the same day, that is a really good primer on the state of the art for treating brain mets, http://chaoticallypreciselifeloveandmelanoma.blogspot.com/2013/06/brain-mets-in-melanomathe-latest-from.html. 

It especially focuses on combining SRS with systemic treatments, and how that is improved the odds substantially for brain met patients. One mentioned several times is ipilimumab (aka Yervoy). I was given a course of it, not quite simultaneously, with my 2nd SRS treatment. 
– Kyle