Melanoma Contributions by MRosenthal

Dr. Renneker used to be an oncologist at UCSF and then Cal Pacific before starting his research and patient advocacy practice. He founded it because he realized that there is far too much information about fighting cancer, and innovative treatments both in western medicine and in integrative treatments, for any doctor to stay on top of while practicing medicine full time. Hence, doctors today cannot possibly know of or share all of the possible and promising treatments with their patients. So Dr. Renneker stopped practicing as a doctor and dedicated himself to keeping abreast of treatment from all around the world for fighting cancer. He consults with patients, particularly those with serious or advanced cases of cancer, and helps them develop attack plans, find second opinions, identify new treatments, and more. He doesn’t have a web site but you can read about him at this link to understand how he approaches fighting cancer:

http://www.commonweal.org/programs/lectures/altman.html.

graduated from medical school in 1979 from UCSF and completed his residency in family medicine at UC San Francisco, at San Francisco General Hospital in 1984.

In short, Dr. Renneker will help you navigate the challenges of finding the best and most appropriate treatment options for what you are facing. He uses evidence-based medical information from both Western or Non-Western modalities. He spends considerable time reading medical journals, attending conferences, and keeping his finger on the pulse of the most advanced and effective treatment options. He leverages this research along with specific research he will do for your case, to help you find and navigate a healing course for you.

I am not a doctor. I am the husband of a stage 4 melanoma survivor and my belief is that while melanoma is scary, especially at later stages, it is also something you can beat. While my wife was fighting strong and hard, I did hours and hours of research, day after day, figuring out things that might help her. I have shared a lot of those things in the melanoma treatments section of FoundHealth. Here, I lay out my step by step protocol for what I believe is a very effective “attack plan” to fighting and beating melanoma.

This plan is based on a simple philosophy: when you’re at war with cancer, you throw at it every credible thing you can find that might be effective. Most doctors will tell you that the majority of possible “integrative” treatments for melanoma (herbs, mind body techniques, supplements, foods, etc. ) have not been fully studied in multiple stage human trials and so they are not “proven” to work. This is 100% true and it is also 100% an unfortunate effect of the fact that pharma companies cannot profit from most of these treatments because they are not patentable. Since multiple stage human trials can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to complete (with no guaranteed outcome), these companies simply won’t pursue funding these treatment studies, and hence, they never get done.

However, just because treatments haven’t been proven to work in humans (though many have proven to work in animals and test tubes), it doesn’t mean they don’t work. It just means they may work and they may not. But if they don’t hurt you, then why not try them?

My philosophy is this: When you’re in a war to save your life, you send in the army, the navy, the air force, and the marines all at the same time. When its over and you’re cancer free, it won’t matter that you knew which of the 30 or 40 things you tried are the ones that worked. Trust me. The only thing that will matter is that you won!

Here is my protocol

1. Believe in yourself: You can beat melanoma, even if it is a bad case of stage 4. Believing in yourself and your ability to do this is very important. Read more.
2. Make sure you have an advocate: It’s incredibly difficult to fight a serious form of melanoma, let alone navigate the morass of the health system. Finding a friend(s) or family member(s) who can be your advocate and “ear” to bounce things off of really helps. Read more.
3. Train your friends and family: Friends and family who love you want to help, but often they don’t know what to do or how to do it, and sometimes can even be detrimental. Training them at the start, and laying out the “ground rules” can really help. Read more.
4. Find the right doctors, both “western” and “integrative”: No one doctor or person has all of the answers. Finding the right oncologist, integrative medicine doctor, surgeon, etc. can be a daunting task, but you can pick the ones that are right for you. Read more.
5. Examine many different treatments: There are many different medical treatments for melanoma. Some work better than others. And some work better for one person vs. another. Picking the right one is a challenge, but you can do it. Read More.
6. Take an integrative approach: I believe the integration of medical treatments along side herbs, supplements, diet, mental exercises, spirit and more, all working together, is your “secret weapon” to beating melanoma. Read more.
7. Manage the side effects of treatment: The treatments you are given by your doctor will almost always have side effects. Some of them your doctor will know how to deal with. Some they will not. I discovered many other ways to manage the negative side effects of my wife’s chemo and bio treatments that the doctor did not know about.
8. Change your diet: Food has an enormous impact on your ability to stay healthy, boost your immune system, lower internal inflammation, and more. Several foods have even specifically been shown to help fight melanoma. Some people actually claim they beat melanoma with diet alone. Read more about diet and melanoma.
9. Take care of your body: Your body is your temple, it is your weapon against melanoma and staying strong while you fight can significantly help. Read more about using your body to beat melanoma.
10. Protect your mind: Beyond believing in yourself, there are many things you can do with your mind to help you beat melanoma. Read more about using your mind to beat melanoma.
11. Take herbs, supplements and vitamins: Many herbs, supplements, and vitamins have been shown to have an affect on fighting melanoma. A good protocol of these things can be really help. Read more about herbs and supplements to beat melanoma.
12. Don’t be afraid of the unusual: Sometimes it’s hard to step “out of your box” and try things you’ve never done before. Often times, however, what is unusual today, is the norm in the future.
13. Create a post-treatment protocol: To this day, over four years later, my wife still takes 40+ melanoma fighting supplements and vitamins a day, and our diet has permanently changed for the better. She’s smart because she continues to do everything she can to ensure that she stays cancer-free.

I am not a doctor. I am the husband of a stage 4 melanoma survivor and my belief is that while melanoma is scary, especially at later stages, it is also something you can beat. While my wife was fighting strong and hard, I did hours and hours of research, day after day, figuring out things that might help her. I have shared a lot of those things in the melanoma treatments section of FoundHealth. Here, I lay out my step by step protocol for what I believe is a very effective “attack plan” to fighting and beating melanoma.

This plan is based on a simple philosophy: when you’re at war with cancer, you throw at it every credible thing you can find that might be effective. Most doctors will tell you that the majority of possible “integrative” treatments for melanoma (herbs, mind body techniques, supplements, foods, etc. ) have not been fully studied in multiple stage human trials and so they are not “proven” to work. This is 100% true and it is also 100% an unfortunate effect of the fact that pharma companies cannot profit from most of these treatments because they are not patentable. Since multiple stage human trials can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to complete (with no guaranteed outcome), these companies simply won’t pursue funding these treatment studies, and hence, they never get done.

However, just because treatments haven’t been proven to work in humans (though many have proven to work in animals and test tubes), it doesn’t mean they don’t work. It just means they may work and they may not. But if they don’t hurt you, then why not try them?

My philosophy is this: When you’re in a war to save your life, you send in the army, the navy, the air force, and the marines all at the same time. When its over and you’re cancer free, it won’t matter that you knew which of the 30 or 40 things you tried are the ones that worked. Trust me. The only thing that will matter is that you won!

Here is my protocol

1. Believe in yourself: You can beat melanoma, even if it is a bad case of stage 4. Believing in yourself and your ability to do this is very important. Read more.
2. Make sure you have an advocate: It’s incredibly difficult to fight a serious form of melanoma, let alone navigate the morass of the health system. Finding a friend(s) or family member(s) who can be your advocate and “ear” to bounce things off of really helps. Read more.
3. Train your friends and family: Friends and family who love you want to help, but often they don’t know what to do or how to do it, and sometimes can even be detrimental. Training them at the start, and laying out the “ground rules” can really help. Read more.
4. Find the right doctors, both “western” and “integrative”: No one doctor or person has all of the answers. Finding the right oncologist, integrative medicine doctor, surgeon, etc. can be a daunting task, but you can pick the ones that are right for you. Read more.
5. Examine many different treatments: There are many different medical treatments for melanoma. Some work better than others. And some work better for one person vs. another. Picking the right one is a challenge, but you can do it. Read More.
6. Take an integrative approach: I believe the integration of medical treatments along side herbs, supplements, diet, mental exercises, spirit and more, all working together, is your “secret weapon” to beating melanoma. Read more.
7. Manage the side effects of treatment: The treatments you are given by your doctor will almost always have side effects. Some of them your doctor will know how to deal with. Some they will not. I discovered many other ways to manage the negative side effects of my wife’s chemo and bio treatments that the doctor did not know about.
8. Change your diet: Food has an enormous impact on your ability to stay healthy, boost your immune system, lower internal inflammation, and more. Several foods have even specifically been shown to help fight melanoma. Some people actually claim they beat melanoma with diet alone. Read more about diet and melanoma.
9. Take care of your body: Your body is your temple, it is your weapon against melanoma and staying strong while you fight can significantly help. Read more about using your body to beat melanoma.
10. Protect your mind: Beyond believing in yourself, there are many things you can do with your mind to help you beat melanoma. Read more about using your mind to beat melanoma.
11. Take herbs, supplements and vitamins: Many herbs, supplements, and vitamins have been shown to have an affect on fighting melanoma. A good protocol of these things can be really help. Read more about herbs and supplements to beat melanoma.
12. Don’t be afraid of the unusual: Sometimes it’s hard to step “out of your box” and try things you’ve never done before. Often times, however, what is unusual today, is the norm in the future.
13. Create a post-treatment protocol: To this day, over four years later, my wife still takes 40+ melanoma fighting supplements and vitamins a day, and our diet has permanently changed for the better. She’s smart because she continues to do everything she can to ensure that she stays cancer-free.

What is integrative medicine?

Integrative medicine is a fancy name for something very simple: combining a number of different treatments and medical philosophies together to help fight your health change and heal your body. It suggests that, for example, keeping your body strong through exercise, or maintaining a positive attitude, or taking certain herbs, all can have a contributory effect on beating cancer.

I highly encourage you to take a look at the various sections of the FoundHealth melanoma treatment section (Medicine, Herbs, Diet, Body, Mind, Spirit) and read about many of the ways you can use an integrative approach. You’ll also find there, the references and scientific studies that suggest these things really can work.

How to use integrative medicine:

Integrative medicine can be used in a number of ways in fighting cancer:

To prevent cancer from occurring: Integrative medicine suggests that there are certain foods you can eat, techniques you can use, and more to help prevent melanoma from occurring in the first place. If you have a history of melanoma in your family and are concerned about it for yourself, there are a number of ways you can change your diet, take supplements and herbs, and more, to give yourself a better chance of preventing melanoma from occurring.

To fight once you have cancer: The biggest question that most people ask about using an integrative approach to beating melanoma is: how do I know what works, and how do I know whether I can do those things at the same time I am getting medical treatment?

It is my belief that integrative approaches to fighting melanoma work. I saw it work with my wife, and I have seen enough evidence in my own research to believe the data supports this. In the end, you will have to decide for yourself, but I encourage you to read the various sections of the melanoma treatment section, look at the evidence, and decide for yourself.

In terms of whether to combine treatments, my belief is that some can be combined, and some should be kept separate. For example, most doctors will tell you that mind and body techniques are perfectly fine to do concurrently with medical treatment. Most diet changes are also probably ok as well. Particular care should be taken with herbs and supplements. You can do your own research, but I also suggest talking with an integrative doctor about what they recommend for concurrent use.

To mange side effects: Managing side effects is an area where integrative medicine can be very helpful. For example, it can be used to boost blood counts and help your body recover more quickly between treatments.

To prevent a recurrence: After treatments is done, I highly recommend you put together a program of herbs, vitamins, supplements and dietary changes to help ensure that melanoma stays away.

Medical treatments

There are many different medical treatments for melanoma, from “standard” treatments (i.e. approved by the FDA) like Interferon and Interleukin, to experimental treatments like chemotherapies, biotherapies, vaccines, viruses, anti-CTLA4’s, etc. Unfortunately, the reason there are so many treatments is because none of them work all of the time for all people. In fact, many of them only work some of the time for some people. The tricky part is figuring out which one might work best for you. In some cases, your doctor will have a solid recommendation for you. In others, you may do a lot of hunting around before you find one that makes your comfortable.

If you decide to go on a “hunt,” remember this rule of thumb: sometimes, it’s not the devil that’s in the details, it’s the angel. I.e. if you dig deep into the details, you may find information to your advantage. By doing your research and asking a lot of questions, you and/or your doctor can sometimes identify particular characteristics of you (in your blood, in the location of the tumor, etc.) that make you a better candidate for one treatment over another. If you have the tolerance or ability to read through the medical studies published on a particular treatment you are considering, you may be able to identify these things. Otherwise, ask lots of questions to the doctor who is administering the treatments to try to find characteristics that make you a good or bad candidate for it.

A couple of other things to consider when selecting a treatment:

• Make sure you understand the Trial phasing system, so you can be sure you understand what you’re getting. For example, in a Phase 2 trial, you are actually not guaranteed to get the medicine, and hence you may actually get the placebo.
• You don’t have to do just one treatment. Some doctors combine treatments together, some phase them one after another. The treatment my wife did involved three chemotherapies and two biotherapies at the same time. It was like throwing in everything and the kitchen sink.
• The best treatment for you may not be near you. Don’t be afraid to explore centers with melanoma expertise that are not near you.

In the end, hopefully this research will help you narrow the treatment options down to the one you feel is best for you. If you end up down to two or three treatment options and you and you’re doctors are still not sure which one is best for you, don’t be afraid to trust your instincts and make a “gut” decision about which one makes the most sense. When you believe in your treatment and go with the one that feels right to you, it likely has a better chance of working.

Integrative treatments

I am a big believer in integrative treatments for fighting melanoma because I believe the research and evidence suggests that they help and work. You can read about many of those treatments in the FoundHealth melanoma treatment section. In addition, here are some other things to think about:

• Find an integrative doctor who can help guide your treatment. There are many very good integrative doctors with a lot of experience helping people fight melanoma. Check out some of them here.
• Look far and wide. There is very good work fighting melanoma being done all around the world. Don’t just look in the US, but consider looking in other countries that have shown innovative melanoma treatments such as: Germany, Argentina, Australia (which has the highest melanoma rates in the world), Mexico, and Japan.
• Sometimes treatments will seem crazy or at least very foreign. In some cases, this is because they are crazy. In other cases, they could be very helpful. If medical science had the cure to melanoma then everyone with melanoma would do it. But there is no one “cure” that works for everyone, which is why a program that integrates medical treatments with integrative treatments can be even more effective. When you come across a treatment that seems odd or “crazy,” do your homework on it. See what others are saying about it. Find people who have tried it. Find practitioners with years of clinical experience and can share their thoughts on the benefits and risks of the treatment.
• Use a researcher to help you. There are people who specialize in doing research to help people fight and beat melanoma, and who know a broad array of possible integrative treatments. Check out some of them here.

I am not a doctor. I am the husband of a stage 4 melanoma survivor and my belief is that while melanoma is scary, especially at later stages, it is also something you can beat. While my wife was fighting strong and hard, I did hours and hours of research, day after day, figuring out things that might help her. I have shared a lot of those things in the melanoma treatments section of FoundHealth. Here, I lay out my step by step protocol for what I believe is a very effective “attack plan” to fighting and beating melanoma.

This plan is based on a simple philosophy: when you’re at war with cancer, you throw at it every credible thing you can find that might be effective. Most doctors will tell you that the majority of possible “integrative” treatments for melanoma (herbs, mind body techniques, supplements, foods, etc. ) have not been fully studied in multiple stage human trials and so they are not “proven” to work. This is 100% true and it is also 100% an unfortunate effect of the fact that pharma companies cannot profit from most of these treatments because they are not patentable. Since multiple stage human trials can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to complete (with no guaranteed outcome), these companies simply won’t pursue funding these treatment studies, and hence, they never get done.

However, just because treatments haven’t been proven to work in humans (though many have proven to work in animals and test tubes), it doesn’t mean they don’t work. It just means they may work and they may not. But if they don’t hurt you, then why not try them?

My philosophy is this: When you’re in a war to save your life, you send in the army, the navy, the air force, and the marines all at the same time. When its over and you’re cancer free, it won’t matter that you knew which of the 30 or 40 things you tried are the ones that worked. Trust me. The only thing that will matter is that you won!

Here is my protocol

1. Believe in yourself: You can beat melanoma, even if it is a bad case of stage 4. Believing in yourself and your ability to do this is very important. Read more.
2. Make sure you have an advocate: It’s incredibly difficult to fight a serious form of melanoma, let alone navigate the morass of the health system. Finding a friend(s) or family member(s) who can be your advocate and “ear” to bounce things off of really helps. Read more.
3. Train your friends and family: Friends and family who love you want to help, but often they don’t know what to do or how to do it, and sometimes can even be detrimental. Training them at the start, and laying out the “ground rules” can really help. Read more.
4. Find the right doctors, both “western” and “integrative”: No one doctor or person has all of the answers. Finding the right oncologist, integrative medicine doctor, surgeon, etc. can be a daunting task, but you can pick the ones that are right for you. Read more.
5. Examine many different treatments: There are many different medical treatments for melanoma. Some work better than others. And some work better for one person vs. another. Picking the right one is a challenge, but you can do it. Read More.
6. Take an integrative approach: I believe the integration of medical treatments along side herbs, supplements, diet, mental exercises, spirit and more, all working together, is your “secret weapon” to beating melanoma. Read more.
7. Manage the side effects of treatment: The treatments you are given by your doctor will almost always have side effects. Some of them your doctor will know how to deal with. Some they will not. I discovered many other ways to manage the negative side effects of my wife’s chemo and bio treatments that the doctor did not know about.
8. Change your diet: Food has an enormous impact on your ability to stay healthy, boost your immune system, lower internal inflammation, and more. Several foods have even specifically been shown to help fight melanoma. Some people actually claim they beat melanoma with diet alone. Read more about diet and melanoma.
9. Take care of your body: Your body is your temple, it is your weapon against melanoma and staying strong while you fight can significantly help. Read more about using your body to beat melanoma.
10. Protect your mind: Beyond believing in yourself, there are many things you can do with your mind to help you beat melanoma. Read more about using your mind to beat melanoma.
11. Take herbs, supplements and vitamins: Many herbs, supplements, and vitamins have been shown to have an affect on fighting melanoma. A good protocol of these things can be really help. Read more about herbs and supplements to beat melanoma.
12. Don’t be afraid of the unusual: Sometimes it’s hard to step “out of your box” and try things you’ve never done before. Often times, however, what is unusual today, is the norm in the future.
13. Create a post-treatment protocol: To this day, over four years later, my wife still takes 40+ melanoma fighting supplements and vitamins a day, and our diet has permanently changed for the better. She’s smart because she continues to do everything she can to ensure that she stays cancer-free.

Medical treatments

There are many different medical treatments for melanoma, from “standard” treatments (i.e. approved by the FDA) like Interferon and Interleukin, to experimental treatments like chemotherapies, biotherapies, vaccines, viruses, anti-CTLA4’s, etc. Unfortunately, the reason there are so many treatments is because none of them work all of the time for all people. In fact, many of them only work some of the time for some people. The tricky part is figuring out which one might work best for you. In some cases, your doctor will have a solid recommendation for you. In others, you may do a lot of hunting around before you find one that makes your comfortable.

If you decide to go on a “hunt,” remember this rule of thumb: sometimes, it’s not the devil that’s in the details, it’s the angel. I.e. if you dig deep into the details, you may find information to your advantage. By doing your research and asking a lot of questions, you and/or your doctor can sometimes identify particular characteristics of you (in your blood, in the location of the tumor, etc.) that make you a better candidate for one treatment over another. If you have the tolerance or ability to read through the medical studies published on a particular treatment you are considering, you may be able to identify these things. Otherwise, ask lots of questions to the doctor who is administering the treatments to try to find characteristics that make you a good or bad candidate for it.

A couple of other things to consider when selecting a treatment:

• Make sure you understand the Trial phasing system, so you can be sure you understand what you’re getting. For example, in a Phase 2 trial, you are actually not guaranteed to get the medicine, and hence you may actually get the placebo.
• You don’t have to do just one treatment. Some doctors combine treatments together, some phase them one after another. The treatment my wife did involved three chemotherapies and two biotherapies at the same time. It was like throwing in everything and the kitchen sink.
• The best treatment for you may not be near you. Don’t be afraid to explore centers with melanoma expertise that are not near you.

In the end, hopefully this research will help you narrow the treatment options down to the one you feel is best for you. If you end up down to two or three treatment options and you and you’re doctors are still not sure which one is best for you, don’t be afraid to trust your instincts and make a “gut” decision about which one makes the most sense. When you believe in your treatment and go with the one that feels right to you, it likely has a better chance of working.

Integrative treatments

I am a big believer in integrative treatments for fighting melanoma because I believe the research and evidence suggests that they help and work. You can read about many of those treatments in the FoundHealth melanoma treatment section. In addition, here are some other things to think about:

• Find an integrative doctor who can help guide your treatment. There are many very good integrative doctors with a lot of experience helping people fight melanoma. Check out some of them here.
• Look far and wide. There is very good work fighting melanoma being done all around the world. Don’t just look in the US, but consider looking in other countries that have shown innovative melanoma treatments such as: Germany, Argentina, Australia (which has the highest melanoma rates in the world), Mexico, and Japan.
• Sometimes treatments will seem crazy or at least very foreign. In some cases, this is because they are crazy. In other cases, they could be very helpful. If medical science had the cure to melanoma then everyone with melanoma would do it. But there is no one “cure” that works for everyone, which is why a program that integrates medical treatments with integrative treatments can be even more effective. When you come across a treatment that seems odd or “crazy,” do your homework on it. See what others are saying about it. Find people who have tried it. Find practitioners with years of clinical experience and can share their thoughts on the benefits and risks of the treatment.
• Use a researcher to help you. There are people who specialize in doing research to help people fight and beat melanoma, and who know a broad array of possible integrative treatments. Check out some of them here.

**

Medical treatments

There are many different medical treatments for melanoma, from “standard” treatments (i.e. approved by the FDA) like Interferon and Interleukin, to experimental treatments like chemotherapies, biotherapies, vaccines, viruses, anti-CTLA4’s, etc. Unfortunately, the reason there are so many treatments is because none of them work all of the time for all people. In fact, many of them only work some of the time for some people. The tricky part is figuring out which one might work best for you. In some cases, your doctor will have a solid recommendation for you. In others, you may do a lot of hunting around before you find one that makes your comfortable.

If you decide to go on a “hunt,” remember this rule of thumb: sometimes, it’s not the devil that’s in the details, it’s the angel. I.e. if you dig deep into the details, you may find information to your advantage. By doing your research and asking a lot of questions, you and/or your doctor can sometimes identify particular characteristics of you (in your blood, in the location of the tumor, etc.) that make you a better candidate for one treatment over another. If you have the tolerance or ability to read through the medical studies published on a particular treatment you are considering, you may be able to identify these things. Otherwise, ask lots of questions to the doctor who is administering the treatments to try to find characteristics that make you a good or bad candidate for it.

A couple of other things to consider when selecting a treatment:

• Make sure you understand the Trial phasing system, so you can be sure you understand what you’re getting. For example, in a Phase 2 trial, you are actually not guaranteed to get the medicine, and hence you may actually get the placebo.
• You don’t have to do just one treatment. Some doctors combine treatments together, some phase them one after another. The treatment my wife did involved three chemotherapies and two biotherapies at the same time. It was like throwing in everything and the kitchen sink.
• The best treatment for you may not be near you. Don’t be afraid to explore centers with melanoma expertise that are not near you.

In the end, hopefully this research will help you narrow the treatment options down to the one you feel is best for you. If you end up down to two or three treatment options and you and you’re doctors are still not sure which one is best for you, don’t be afraid to trust your instincts and make a “gut” decision about which one makes the most sense. When you believe in your treatment and go with the one that feels right to you, it likely has a better chance of working.

Integrative treatments

I am a big believer in integrative treatments for fighting melanoma because I believe the research and evidence suggests that they help and work. You can read about many of those treatments in the FoundHealth melanoma treatment section. In addition, here are some other things to think about:

• Find an integrative doctor who can help guide your treatment. There are many very good integrative doctors with a lot of experience helping people fight melanoma. Check out some of them here.
• Look far and wide. There is very good work fighting melanoma being done all around the world. Don’t just look in the US, but consider looking in other countries that have shown innovative melanoma treatments such as: Germany, Argentina, Australia (which has the highest melanoma rates in the world), Mexico, and Japan.
• Sometimes treatments will seem crazy or at least very foreign. In some cases, this is because they are crazy. In other cases, they could be very helpful. If medical science had the cure to melanoma then everyone with melanoma would do it. But there is no one “cure” that works for everyone, which is why a program that integrates medical treatments with integrative treatments can be even more effective. When you come across a treatment that seems odd or “crazy,” do your homework on it. See what others are saying about it. Find people who have tried it. Find practitioners with years of clinical experience and can share their thoughts on the benefits and risks of the treatment.
• Use a researcher to help you. There are people who specialize in doing research to help people fight and beat melanoma, and who know a broad array of possible integrative treatments. Check out some of them here.

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I am not a doctor. I am the husband of a stage 4 melanoma survivor and my belief is that while melanoma is scary, especially at later stages, it is also something you can beat. While my wife was fighting strong and hard, I did hours and hours of research, day after day, figuring out things that might help her. I have shared a lot of those things in the melanoma treatments section of FoundHealth. Here, I lay out my step by step protocol for what I believe is a very effective “attack plan” to fighting and beating melanoma.

This plan is based on a simple philosophy: when you’re at war with cancer, you throw at it every credible thing you can find that might be effective. Most doctors will tell you that the majority of possible “integrative” treatments for melanoma (herbs, mind body techniques, supplements, foods, etc. ) have not been fully studied in multiple stage human trials and so they are not “proven” to work. This is 100% true and it is also 100% an unfortunate effect of the fact that pharma companies cannot profit from most of these treatments because they are not patentable. Since multiple stage human trials can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to complete (with no guaranteed outcome), these companies simply won’t pursue funding these treatment studies, and hence, they never get done.

However, just because treatments haven’t been proven to work in humans (though many have proven to work in animals and test tubes), it doesn’t mean they don’t work. It just means they may work and they may not. But if they don’t hurt you, then why not try them?

My philosophy is this: When you’re in a war to save your life, you send in the army, the navy, the air force, and the marines all at the same time. When its over and you’re cancer free, it won’t matter that you knew which of the 30 or 40 things you tried are the ones that worked. Trust me. The only thing that will matter is that you won!

Here is my protocol

1. Believe in yourself: You can beat melanoma, even if it is a bad case of stage 4. Believing in yourself and your ability to do this is very important. Read more.
2. Make sure you have an advocate: It’s incredibly difficult to fight a serious form of melanoma, let alone navigate the morass of the health system. Finding a friend(s) or family member(s) who can be your advocate and “ear” to bounce things off of really helps. Read more.
3. Train your friends and family: Friends and family who love you want to help, but often they don’t know what to do or how to do it, and sometimes can even be detrimental. Training them at the start, and laying out the “ground rules” can really help. Read more.
4. Find the right doctors, both “western” and “integrative”: No one doctor or person has all of the answers. Finding the right oncologist, integrative medicine doctor, surgeon, etc. can be a daunting task, but you can pick the ones that are right for you. Read more.
5. Examine many different treatments: There are many different medical treatments for melanoma. Some work better than others. And some work better for one person vs. another. Picking the right one is a challenge, but you can do it. Read More.
6. Take an integrative approach: I believe the integration of medical treatments along side herbs, supplements, diet, mental exercises, spirit and more, all working together, is your “secret weapon” to beating melanoma. Read more.
7. Manage the side effects of treatment: The treatments you are given by your doctor will almost always have side effects. Some of them your doctor will know how to deal with. Some they will not. I discovered many other ways to manage the negative side effects of my wife’s chemo and bio treatments that the doctor did not know about.
8. Change your diet: Food has an enormous impact on your ability to stay healthy, boost your immune system, lower internal inflammation, and more. Several foods have even specifically been shown to help fight melanoma. Some people actually claim they beat melanoma with diet alone. Read more about diet and melanoma.
9. Take care of your body: Your body is your temple, it is your weapon against melanoma and staying strong while you fight can significantly help. Read more about using your body to beat melanoma.
10. Protect your mind: Beyond believing in yourself, there are many things you can do with your mind to help you beat melanoma. Read more about using your mind to beat melanoma.
11. Take herbs, supplements and vitamins: Many herbs, supplements, and vitamins have been shown to have an affect on fighting melanoma. A good protocol of these things can be really help. Read more about herbs and supplements to beat melanoma.
12. Don’t be afraid of the unusual: Sometimes it’s hard to step “out of your box” and try things you’ve never done before. Often times, however, what is unusual today, is the norm in the future.
13. Create a post-treatment protocol: To this day, over four years later, my wife still takes 40+ melanoma fighting supplements and vitamins a day, and our diet has permanently changed for the better. She’s smart because she continues to do everything she can to ensure that she stays cancer-free.

Finding the right doctor(s) to guide your treatment plan is very important to your success. Sometimes, the right doctor is not the one who initially diagnosed you, but rather a specialist in melanoma, or someone who is administering the experimental treatment you want. In general, you want to find someone who you trust, who you feel comfortable with, and who you feel is going to help you win. Below are some things to think about.

Try to work with a specialist

Some doctors are general oncologists. Some specialize primarily (or even exclusively) in the treatment of melanoma. For difficult cases of melanoma like stage 4, you should consider working with a specialist who spends the majority of their time and energy treating melanoma.

Picking the doctor is also picking the treatment

Because late stage melanoma is a challenge to fight, while there are a few “standard” treatments (i.e. fully approved by the FDA), there are dozens of non-standard treatments being tested all around the country. The reason why there are so many experimental treatments is because the standard ones haven’t fully solved the problem yet. At any one time, one particular doctor may be administering a few different types of treatments, but no single doctor is aware of all of the treatments that are out there, nor how they are working. So if you really want to explore all of your treatment options, you will have to talk with and meet with several doctors, often times, not in your local area.

Picking the right treatment is important because some treatments work better than others. Additionally, some treatments work better for some people than others, often based on age, gender, blood and tumor characteristics, stage, and more. I always suggest that you take the time to talk with many doctors, send them your scan reports, blood work, etc. and ask them if your characteristics suggest a higher likelihood of a treatment working. I probably spoke with 20 doctors before helping my wife narrow down the treatment options.

If you have stage 4 melanoma, consider talking with people at the most prominent treatment centers in the country, which are generally: Sloan Kettering, MD Anderson, and NCI in Bethesda. Do the research on their websites, find doctors who are specializing in melanoma, call their nurses and find out what trials they are doing.

Consider an integrative doctor

An integrative doctor is one who brings together “western” medical treatments like chemotherapies, along with other cancer fighting treatments (like herbs, supplements, mind over matter techniques, and much more). In my opinion, these people are the “best of both worlds” because they have many more “tools” and approaches to fighting cancer at their disposal, and can construct a holistic program of attack for you. The good news as well is that because they are integrative, they know how to combine the treatments together. Since they work with both chemotherapies and other “non-standard” cancer treatments, they know what you should do and shouldn’t do while you’re on your main treatment, they will know to point out risks with drug interactions, and more.

The other advantage an integrative cancer doctor has is that they may have 10 or 20 years of clinical experience using integrative medicine to fight cancer. This is very important because there are not many broad-based human scientific studies done on the effect of herbs, supplements, food, and more on fighting melanoma. This doesn’t mean those things don’t work, it just means they haven’t been fully studied. However, the next best thing is finding a doctor with 10 or 20 years of clinical experience using integrative practices and methods in treating cancer. They will have refined what they do over their experience with hundreds of patients before you, and you will benefit from that. They can also help you use herbs, supplements, diet, etc. to manage the side effects of chemotherapies, and can put together a post-treatment regimen to help you continue to kill any cancer that is left, and keep it from coming back.

Read about some integrative doctors here.

You can work with more than one doctor

It’s ok as well to work with more than one doctor. Especially when fighting very difficult forms of melanoma, doctors are used to working together in teams. It’s ok to have both a “normal” doctor and an “integrative” doctor working with you at the same time. Just be clear with both that you are working together, and ask them to talk to each other.

Find someone you are comfortable with

Beyond picking a doctor who has a treatment you’re interested in, its important to pick a doctor who has the right “feel.” You wan to find a doctor that you trust and that you genuinely feel cares about you and wants to help you fight and win. When you meet with them, ask yourself: Do I have faith in their intelligence and ability to help? Do they have a bedside manner than works with my personality and approach? Does my “gut” tell me to have faith in this person?

Your doctor is your partner in this fight. You wouldn’t marry someone at the beginning of the first date, and you don’t have to chose your doctor immediately either. Take the time to find the one that feels the most comfortable to you.

Consider traveling for treatment

If you find the right doctor and the right treatment, yet it requires travel, don’t despair. Many times the pharma company who has the experimental treatment you are considering, will sponsor some of your travel costs. There are also organizations that offer free flights for people who are fight cancer (ex. www.corpangelnetwork.org).

Back to Mike Rosenthal's Strategy to Beat melanoma

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Finding the right doctor(s) to guide your treatment plan is very important to your success. Sometimes, the right doctor is not the one who initially diagnosed you, but rather a specialist in melanoma, or someone who is administering the experimental treatment you want. In general, you want to find someone who you trust, who you feel comfortable with, and who you feel is going to help you win. Below are some things to think about.

Try to work with a specialist

Some doctors are general oncologists. Some specialize primarily (or even exclusively) in the treatment of melanoma. For difficult cases of melanoma like stage 4, you should consider working with a specialist who spends the majority of their time and energy treating melanoma.

Picking the doctor is also picking the treatment

Because late stage melanoma is a challenge to fight, while there are a few “standard” treatments (i.e. fully approved by the FDA), there are dozens of non-standard treatments being tested all around the country. The reason why there are so many experimental treatments is because the standard ones haven’t fully solved the problem yet. At any one time, one particular doctor may be administering a few different types of treatments, but no single doctor is aware of all of the treatments that are out there, nor how they are working. So if you really want to explore all of your treatment options, you will have to talk with and meet with several doctors, often times, not in your local area.

Picking the right treatment is important because some treatments work better than others. Additionally, some treatments work better for some people than others, often based on age, gender, blood and tumor characteristics, stage, and more. I always suggest that you take the time to talk with many doctors, send them your scan reports, blood work, etc. and ask them if your characteristics suggest a higher likelihood of a treatment working. I probably spoke with 20 doctors before helping my wife narrow down the treatment options.

If you have stage 4 melanoma, consider talking with people at the most prominent treatment centers in the country, which are generally: Sloan Kettering, MD Anderson, and NCI in Bethesda. Do the research on their websites, find doctors who are specializing in melanoma, call their nurses and find out what trials they are doing.

Consider an integrative doctor

An integrative doctor is one who brings together “western” medical treatments like chemotherapies, along with other cancer fighting treatments (like herbs, supplements, mind over matter techniques, and much more). In my opinion, these people are the “best of both worlds” because they have many more “tools” and approaches to fighting cancer at their disposal, and can construct a holistic program of attack for you. The good news as well is that because they are integrative, they know how to combine the treatments together. Since they work with both chemotherapies and other “non-standard” cancer treatments, they know what you should do and shouldn’t do while you’re on your main treatment, they will know to point out risks with drug interactions, and more.

The other advantage an integrative cancer doctor has is that they may have 10 or 20 years of clinical experience using integrative medicine to fight cancer. This is very important because there are not many broad-based human scientific studies done on the effect of herbs, supplements, food, and more on fighting melanoma. This doesn’t mean those things don’t work, it just means they haven’t been fully studied. However, the next best thing is finding a doctor with 10 or 20 years of clinical experience using integrative practices and methods in treating cancer. They will have refined what they do over their experience with hundreds of patients before you, and you will benefit from that. They can also help you use herbs, supplements, diet, etc. to manage the side effects of chemotherapies, and can put together a post-treatment regimen to help you continue to kill any cancer that is left, and keep it from coming back.

Read about some integrative doctors here.

You can work with more than one doctor

It’s ok as well to work with more than one doctor. Especially when fighting very difficult forms of melanoma, doctors are used to working together in teams. It’s ok to have both a “normal” doctor and an “integrative” doctor working with you at the same time. Just be clear with both that you are working together, and ask them to talk to each other.

Find someone you are comfortable with

Beyond picking a doctor who has a treatment you’re interested in, its important to pick a doctor who has the right “feel.” You wan to find a doctor that you trust and that you genuinely feel cares about you and wants to help you fight and win. When you meet with them, ask yourself: Do I have faith in their intelligence and ability to help? Do they have a bedside manner than works with my personality and approach? Does my “gut” tell me to have faith in this person?

Your doctor is your partner in this fight. You wouldn’t marry someone at the beginning of the first date, and you don’t have to chose your doctor immediately either. Take the time to find the one that feels the most comfortable to you.

Consider traveling for treatment

If you find the right doctor and the right treatment, yet it requires travel, don’t despair. Many times the pharma company who has the experimental treatment you are considering, will sponsor some of your travel costs. There are also organizations that offer free flights for people who are fight cancer (ex. www.corpangelnetwork.org).

Back to Mike Rosenthal's Strategy to Beat melanoma

I am not a doctor. I am the husband of a stage 4 melanoma survivor and my belief is that while melanoma is scary, especially at later stages, it is also something you can beat. While my wife was fighting strong and hard, I did hours and hours of research, day after day, figuring out things that might help her. I have shared a lot of those things in the melanoma treatments section of FoundHealth. Here, I lay out my step by step protocol for what I believe is a very effective “attack plan” to fighting and beating melanoma.

This plan is based on a simple philosophy: when you’re at war with cancer, you throw at it every credible thing you can find that might be effective. Most doctors will tell you that the majority of possible “integrative” treatments for melanoma (herbs, mind body techniques, supplements, foods, etc. ) have not been fully studied in multiple stage human trials and so they are not “proven” to work. This is 100% true and it is also 100% an unfortunate effect of the fact that pharma companies cannot profit from most of these treatments because they are not patentable. Since multiple stage human trials can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to complete (with no guaranteed outcome), these companies simply won’t pursue funding these treatment studies, and hence, they never get done.

However, just because treatments haven’t been proven to work in humans (though many have proven to work in animals and test tubes), it doesn’t mean they don’t work. It just means they may work and they may not. But if they don’t hurt you, then why not try them?

My philosophy is this: When you’re in a war to save your life, you send in the army, the navy, the air force, and the marines all at the same time. When its over and you’re cancer free, it won’t matter that you knew which of the 30 or 40 things you tried are the ones that worked. Trust me. The only thing that will matter is that you won!

Here is my protocol

1. Believe in yourself: You can beat melanoma, even if it is a bad case of stage 4. Believing in yourself and your ability to do this is very important. Read more.
2. Make sure you have an advocate: It’s incredibly difficult to fight a serious form of melanoma, let alone navigate the morass of the health system. Finding a friend(s) or family member(s) who can be your advocate and “ear” to bounce things off of really helps. Read more.
3. Train your friends and family: Friends and family who love you want to help, but often they don’t know what to do or how to do it, and sometimes can even be detrimental. Training them at the start, and laying out the “ground rules” can really help. Read more.
4. Find the right doctors, both “western” and “integrative”: No one doctor or person has all of the answers. Finding the right oncologist, integrative medicine doctor, surgeon, etc. can be a daunting task, but you can pick the ones that are right for you. [ Read more.
5. Examine many different treatments: There are many different medical treatments for melanoma. Some work better than others. And some work better for one person vs. another. Picking the right one is a challenge, but you can do it. Read More.
6. Take an integrative approach: I believe the integration of medical treatments along side herbs, supplements, diet, mental exercises, spirit and more, all working together, is your “secret weapon” to beating melanoma. Read more.
7. Manage the side effects of treatment: The treatments you are given by your doctor will almost always have side effects. Some of them your doctor will know how to deal with. Some they will not. I discovered many other ways to manage the negative side effects of my wife’s chemo and bio treatments that the doctor did not know about.
8. Change your diet: Food has an enormous impact on your ability to stay healthy, boost your immune system, lower internal inflammation, and more. Several foods have even specifically been shown to help fight melanoma. Some people actually claim they beat melanoma with diet alone. Read more about diet and melanoma.
9. Take care of your body: Your body is your temple, it is your weapon against melanoma and staying strong while you fight can significantly help. Read more about using your body to beat melanoma.
10. Protect your mind: Beyond believing in yourself, there are many things you can do with your mind to help you beat melanoma. Read more about using your mind to beat melanoma.
11. Take herbs, supplements and vitamins: Many herbs, supplements, and vitamins have been shown to have an affect on fighting melanoma. A good protocol of these things can be really help. Read more about herbs and supplements to beat melanoma.
12. Don’t be afraid of the unusual: Sometimes it’s hard to step “out of your box” and try things you’ve never done before. Often times, however, what is unusual today, is the norm in the future.
13. Create a post-treatment protocol: To this day, over four years later, my wife still takes 40+ melanoma fighting supplements and vitamins a day, and our diet has permanently changed for the better. She’s smart because she continues to do everything she can to ensure that she stays cancer-free.

Enter section content...

I am not a doctor. I am the husband of a stage 4 melanoma survivor and my belief is that while melanoma is scary, especially at later stages, it is also something you can beat. While my wife was fighting strong and hard, I did hours and hours of research, day after day, figuring out things that might help her. I have shared a lot of those things in the melanoma treatments section of FoundHealth. Here, I lay out my step by step protocol for what I believe is a very effective “attack plan” to fighting and beating melanoma.

This plan is based on a simple philosophy: when you’re at war with cancer, you throw at it every credible thing you can find that might be effective. Most doctors will tell you that the majority of possible “integrative” treatments for melanoma (herbs, mind body techniques, supplements, foods, etc. ) have not been fully studied in multiple stage human trials and so they are not “proven” to work. This is 100% true and it is also 100% an unfortunate effect of the fact that pharma companies cannot profit from most of these treatments because they are not patentable. Since multiple stage human trials can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to complete (with no guaranteed outcome), these companies simply won’t pursue funding these treatment studies, and hence, they never get done.

However, just because treatments haven’t been proven to work in humans (though many have proven to work in animals and test tubes), it doesn’t mean they don’t work. It just means they may work and they may not. But if they don’t hurt you, then why not try them?

My philosophy is this: When you’re in a war to save your life, you send in the army, the navy, the air force, and the marines all at the same time. When its over and you’re cancer free, it won’t matter that you knew which of the 30 or 40 things you tried are the ones that worked. Trust me. The only thing that will matter is that you won!

Here is my protocol

1. Believe in yourself: You can beat melanoma, even if it is a bad case of stage 4. Believing in yourself and your ability to do this is very important. Read more.
2. Make sure you have an advocate: It’s incredibly difficult to fight a serious form of melanoma, let alone navigate the morass of the health system. Finding a friend(s) or family member(s) who can be your advocate and “ear” to bounce things off of really helps. Read more.
3. Train your friends and family: Friends and family who love you want to help, but often they don’t know what to do or how to do it, and sometimes can even be detrimental. Training them at the start, and laying out the “ground rules” can really help. Read more.
4. Find the right doctors, both “western” and “integrative”: No one doctor or person has all of the answers. Finding the right oncologist, integrative medicine doctor, surgeon, etc. can be a daunting task, but you can pick the ones that are right for you. Read more.
5. Examine many different treatments: There are many different medical treatments for melanoma. Some work better than others. And some work better for one person vs. another. Picking the right one is a challenge, but you can do it. Read More.
6. Take an integrative approach: I believe the integration of medical treatments along side herbs, supplements, diet, mental exercises, spirit and more, all working together, is your “secret weapon” to beating melanoma. Read more.
7. Manage the side effects of treatment: The treatments you are given by your doctor will almost always have side effects. Some of them your doctor will know how to deal with. Some they will not. I discovered many other ways to manage the negative side effects of my wife’s chemo and bio treatments that the doctor did not know about.
8. Change your diet: Food has an enormous impact on your ability to stay healthy, boost your immune system, lower internal inflammation, and more. Several foods have even specifically been shown to help fight melanoma. Some people actually claim they beat melanoma with diet alone. Read more about diet and melanoma.
9. Take care of your body: Your body is your temple, it is your weapon against melanoma and staying strong while you fight can significantly help. Read more about using your body to beat melanoma.
10. Protect your mind: Beyond believing in yourself, there are many things you can do with your mind to help you beat melanoma. Read more about using your mind to beat melanoma.
11. Take herbs, supplements and vitamins: Many herbs, supplements, and vitamins have been shown to have an affect on fighting melanoma. A good protocol of these things can be really help. Read more about herbs and supplements to beat melanoma.
12. Don’t be afraid of the unusual: Sometimes it’s hard to step “out of your box” and try things you’ve never done before. Often times, however, what is unusual today, is the norm in the future.
13. Create a post-treatment protocol: To this day, over four years later, my wife still takes 40+ melanoma fighting supplements and vitamins a day, and our diet has permanently changed for the better. She’s smart because she continues to do everything she can to ensure that she stays cancer-free.

You friends and family love you and want to support you while you fight and battle melanoma. The challenge for them most often, is that they haven’t gone through this themselves and they don’t always know how to help. They need to be trained on how to help, and the best thing you can do with them is to be upfront and clear about what you need, what you want, and what I call the “ground rules” of helping you. Tell them the “dos” and “don’t” for what you need and how to relate to you.

Here is an example of what ground rules might look like:

• Don’t ever say the words “your melanoma” to me – it is not my melanoma. I didn’t invite this melanoma into my body, I don’t want it here, and it doesn’t have my permission to stay. It’s not my melanoma, it’s just “the melanoma” and I’m going to be kicking it out of my body.
• Don’t tell me you’re worried about me. That makes me nervous. I need to hear that you’re not worried about me. That you believe in me and my ability to win this fight.
• Don’t always focus on melanoma when you’re talking with me. While it’s true its my fight right now, and hardly a minute goes by that I don’t think about it, I am much more than this, and frankly, not talking about it helps me keep my mind off it. So its ok to ask me about how things are going, but lets spend most of the time talking about other stuff.
• Its really exhausting fighting this, and the treatments are hard on my body. I’m really happy to see you when I see you, but I don’t have much energy to talk for long periods of time. So please keep the visits and conversations short and sweet and very positive and encouraging.

Ask them for help and let them organize:

• My wife and I had friends and family rotate through the hospital, each one staying one night, when she was in treatment or recovering from surgery. It kept her spirit up, shared the burden of keeping watch on her, and also gave them something to do to be helpful.
• We also had a friend set up a rotation where different people would stop by and bring food, help clean, do laundry, etc. It was a great way for them to get to see my wife, say hello, share some love and joy, help out a bit, and yet not talk with her too long to conserve her energy.
• Sometimes the burden of the administrative things like getting copies of tests and scans and records from one doctor to another, was very time consuming, so we often let friend and family help us with it. My wife simply wrote and signed a letter allowing others authorizing to get copies of her medical records, and then they could take care of it for us.

Keep them informed

Its hard to keep everyone informed through individual conversation, but you can do this easily through email or by using some great websites like www.carepages.com. Your friends and family all want to know how you’re doing, what you’re doing, how you’re feeling, etc. But all of those questions from all of those people can be difficult to hear constantly. My wife had me send out emails to a list of 150 friends and family to keep them updated after major decisions were made, or as difficult treatments were going on. I have seen some people keep blogs as well. My wife isn’t a blogger, but some people find it to be a very effective way to keep everyone informed. Sites like carepages.com allow this kind of updating and blogging and also allow friends and family to comment and send messages of support back.

Summary

Your friends and family can be an enormous asset or a giant burden and energy drain. The best way to make sure they are helpful is to be clear with them about how they can help and what you need, and set the ground rules upfront.