HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — A big win is emerging when it comes to treating the most dangerous form of skin cancer.
For years, doctors struggled to treat melanoma, especially when the cancer spread to other organs in the body. Chemotherapy often did not work, but newer immunotherapy treatments are now helping save lives.
Jeff Hill has spent his entire life under the hot Florida sun.
The 77-year-old owns a popular tree nursery and grew up working on a South Florida farm, where years of ultraviolet exposure damaged his fair skin.
“My nose would peel,” Hill said. “ I swear all the girls thought I was at the beach.”
With a history of skin cancer, Hill gets regular skin checks. 10 years ago, his dermatologist found a spot Hill had missed.
The diagnosis was melanoma.
“What is different about melanoma is that this cancer is much more aggressive and it tends to spread to other areas of the body rather quickly,” said Dr. Atif Hussein with Memorial Cancer Institute.
That is exactly what happened to Hill. Tests showed the cancer had also spread to his lungs and liver.
“I ended up getting that phone call. I didn’t want to get that phone call,” Hill said. “My PET scan came back positive and it had spread.”
Hussein said that 15 years ago, Hill’s prognosis would have been grim. But immunotherapy has changed that.
Hill has been receiving regular infusions for 10 years. The medication activates his own immune system to fight the cancer.
“That’s what happens to the immune system,” Hussein said. “Now it says, ‘Oh my God, yes, there is this foreign cancer in the body that I don’t recognize. I need to go and attack it.’”
Thanks to immunotherapy, 60% of patients with stage four melanoma will live 10 years or longer.
Hill’s cancer disappeared.
“It’s a privilege and honor to see someone like Jeff,” Hussein said. “A few years ago, you wouldn’t have expected him to live a couple years. Now he is living, and not just living, he is thriving.”
“It’s a lifesaver for me for sure,” Hill said. “I was really very fortunate.”
As promising as immunotherapy can be, the treatments are not perfect. The medications that supercharge the immune system to fight cancer can sometimes cause it to mistakenly attack healthy joint tissue, leading to inflammation and arthritis.
The good news is that in about half of patients, the arthritis goes away on its own once treatment ends.
PEMBROKE PARK, Fla.
