› Forums › Cutaneous Melanoma Community › Can you believe this ?
- This topic has 12 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 5 months ago by
wgalinat.
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- June 29, 2011 at 3:18 am
Hi all. It’s Warren G. As some of you know I moved from South Florida this year to be around my sons new “girlie cuties” out here in Las Vegas. They are four ( on July 4th ) and two now. Time moves quickly when you are having fun. It’s important to keep fun in your life though I understand it’s difficult often to think about with what we all have been through, and heard, and seen up close and very personal.
After my NIH trial five years ago I have continued to grow and have cut off various carcinomas over the years. I am not sure why they love me so much. I wear a hat always now and lots of sun screen. I’ve read that they may be certainly tied to radiation exposure and lord knows I’ve had tons of that. Any who, I came down with Merkel cell recently. Heard of it ? Probably not. Super rare and most docs have never ever seen it in person. It’s like melanoma in that it’s a very fast moving cancer and of course dangerous. So it was on the top of my head and before I could get the surgery scheduled here in Vegas it did progress some. I was admitted into the hospital and had a large halo cut out deep and wide. Then they took a skin graft about four inches by three inches out of my right hip and put it on my head. The bad news is I think my dreams of a big time movie screen career are probably over , well at almost sixty years old now they never came anyway, the good news is it was all eliminated ( hopefully for good but we have all been down these roads before ). So life continues and we plow ahead. Try to have some fun, and I hope the best for everyone !!! DONT EVER GIVE UP !!! Warren G
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- June 29, 2011 at 2:44 pm
Looking at this from a positive standpoint:
1. At least you found it and you know what it is.
B. You have joined the ranks of the following famous people who have Merkel cell:
- David Brudnoy – Boston talk radio host
- Al Copeland – New Orleans entrepreneur, powerboat racer
- Max Perutz – Nobel-prize winning chemist
- Lindsay Thompson – Former Premier of Victoria, Australia
- Edward Utley – President of Geico
- Joe Zawinul – Jazz-fusion pioneer
Michael
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- June 29, 2011 at 2:44 pm
Looking at this from a positive standpoint:
1. At least you found it and you know what it is.
B. You have joined the ranks of the following famous people who have Merkel cell:
- David Brudnoy – Boston talk radio host
- Al Copeland – New Orleans entrepreneur, powerboat racer
- Max Perutz – Nobel-prize winning chemist
- Lindsay Thompson – Former Premier of Victoria, Australia
- Edward Utley – President of Geico
- Joe Zawinul – Jazz-fusion pioneer
Michael
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- June 30, 2011 at 12:33 am
Warren,
I'm sorry you are dealing with another cancer. My great uncle was diagnosed with Merkel cell around the same time I was diagnosed with mel. 2008. He is in his 80's and all they did was remove it. He is still doing fine. I know the Dr.'s said the same thing that it is rare and aggressive and I just wanted you to know that he's doing just fine and he's a lot older than you. His was also on his head.
Amy S. in Michigan
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- June 30, 2011 at 12:33 am
Warren,
I'm sorry you are dealing with another cancer. My great uncle was diagnosed with Merkel cell around the same time I was diagnosed with mel. 2008. He is in his 80's and all they did was remove it. He is still doing fine. I know the Dr.'s said the same thing that it is rare and aggressive and I just wanted you to know that he's doing just fine and he's a lot older than you. His was also on his head.
Amy S. in Michigan
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- June 30, 2011 at 2:57 am
Warren,
Sorry to ask this but I was googling pictures of Merkel cell and what bothers me is my husband's melanoma was pink or colorless and looked like some of those crazy pictures. What does it look like when it starts out? I don't believe anything online anymore and I always thought melanoma was a mole that got black until my husbands situation. Now I feel like anything can be bad.
Also sorry your going through this, we go back up to NIH on the 11th for my husband's tests. Hopefully it will be 2 years NED stage IV.
Good luck Warren and praying you don't have to deal with anything else.
Rebecca
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- June 30, 2011 at 8:49 pm
Thanks Rebecca for the kind words. This Merkel thing was actually a few bumps under my shin on my head. They made the skin get red. I give the credit this time to a young guy, doctor, that I went to originally here do get several (31 actually, I know it’s crazy) skin issues frozen with the “freeze gun” and one fairly large Squamish cell cut out. He said, hmmm, what’s this over here and cut that out too. That’s the Merkel. Was now. Good luck to you guys back at NIH. You might like to know from this website alone I’ve helped many people consider and then get into NIH. I’m more happy to do that frankly than the write about me. Warren. -
- June 30, 2011 at 8:49 pm
Thanks Rebecca for the kind words. This Merkel thing was actually a few bumps under my shin on my head. They made the skin get red. I give the credit this time to a young guy, doctor, that I went to originally here do get several (31 actually, I know it’s crazy) skin issues frozen with the “freeze gun” and one fairly large Squamish cell cut out. He said, hmmm, what’s this over here and cut that out too. That’s the Merkel. Was now. Good luck to you guys back at NIH. You might like to know from this website alone I’ve helped many people consider and then get into NIH. I’m more happy to do that frankly than the write about me. Warren.
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- June 30, 2011 at 2:57 am
Warren,
Sorry to ask this but I was googling pictures of Merkel cell and what bothers me is my husband's melanoma was pink or colorless and looked like some of those crazy pictures. What does it look like when it starts out? I don't believe anything online anymore and I always thought melanoma was a mole that got black until my husbands situation. Now I feel like anything can be bad.
Also sorry your going through this, we go back up to NIH on the 11th for my husband's tests. Hopefully it will be 2 years NED stage IV.
Good luck Warren and praying you don't have to deal with anything else.
Rebecca
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Tagged: cutaneous melanoma
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