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Hi Dorothy,

Welcome to the board, it's a great place for support, but I'm sorry for the reason you're here.

I'm sure others much more experienced than I will chime in with suggestions, but the ones that comes to my mind are, is your dad being seen by a melanoma specialist?   Has he been tested for the Braf mutation? 

there are other therapies that have been developed recently, but again, I'm not well-versed enough in them to advise you…just wanted to say hi.

All the best,

karen 

Hi Dorothy,

Welcome to the board, it's a great place for support, but I'm sorry for the reason you're here.

I'm sure others much more experienced than I will chime in with suggestions, but the ones that comes to my mind are, is your dad being seen by a melanoma specialist?   Has he been tested for the Braf mutation? 

there are other therapies that have been developed recently, but again, I'm not well-versed enough in them to advise you…just wanted to say hi.

All the best,

karen 

Hi Dorothy,

Welcome to the board, it's a great place for support, but I'm sorry for the reason you're here.

I'm sure others much more experienced than I will chime in with suggestions, but the ones that comes to my mind are, is your dad being seen by a melanoma specialist?   Has he been tested for the Braf mutation? 

there are other therapies that have been developed recently, but again, I'm not well-versed enough in them to advise you…just wanted to say hi.

All the best,

karen 

Dorothy:

With someone in your father's situation, the best path is to ensure, if possible, that he is being treated by a team that treats a lot of melanoma.  They will be up on the latest and best treatments and the clinical trials that are showing promise.

I don't know where you are located, but if you are in the US you may want to consider one of the two new drugs that were approved this year by the FDA.  These were the first new approvals for metastatic melanoma in 13 years.  One drug, Yervoy, helps engage the immune system in fighting the cancer.  The other, Zelboraf, goes into the tumor cells and shuts them down.  Zelboraf only works in patients who have tumors with a particular genetic mutation of a compound called BRAF (pronouced BEE-raf).  About half of patients with melanoma of the skin have this mutation.

The big challenge may be the tumors in the brain.  It is unclear whether either of these drugs help in that area, though some studies suggest that they do.

Please keep us posted and don't hesitate to ask questions.

Tim–MRF

Dorothy:

With someone in your father's situation, the best path is to ensure, if possible, that he is being treated by a team that treats a lot of melanoma.  They will be up on the latest and best treatments and the clinical trials that are showing promise.

I don't know where you are located, but if you are in the US you may want to consider one of the two new drugs that were approved this year by the FDA.  These were the first new approvals for metastatic melanoma in 13 years.  One drug, Yervoy, helps engage the immune system in fighting the cancer.  The other, Zelboraf, goes into the tumor cells and shuts them down.  Zelboraf only works in patients who have tumors with a particular genetic mutation of a compound called BRAF (pronouced BEE-raf).  About half of patients with melanoma of the skin have this mutation.

The big challenge may be the tumors in the brain.  It is unclear whether either of these drugs help in that area, though some studies suggest that they do.

Please keep us posted and don't hesitate to ask questions.

Tim–MRF

Dorothy:

With someone in your father's situation, the best path is to ensure, if possible, that he is being treated by a team that treats a lot of melanoma.  They will be up on the latest and best treatments and the clinical trials that are showing promise.

I don't know where you are located, but if you are in the US you may want to consider one of the two new drugs that were approved this year by the FDA.  These were the first new approvals for metastatic melanoma in 13 years.  One drug, Yervoy, helps engage the immune system in fighting the cancer.  The other, Zelboraf, goes into the tumor cells and shuts them down.  Zelboraf only works in patients who have tumors with a particular genetic mutation of a compound called BRAF (pronouced BEE-raf).  About half of patients with melanoma of the skin have this mutation.

The big challenge may be the tumors in the brain.  It is unclear whether either of these drugs help in that area, though some studies suggest that they do.

Please keep us posted and don't hesitate to ask questions.

Tim–MRF