Melanoma and Breast Cancer?

debbsie

I had melanoma last year and breast cancer this year.  My doctor tells me that there has been a link observed between the two, however not yet identified.  I am wondering if anyone else has had both, and if it has been taken into account in treatment decisions?  My doctor is urging me to go to a comprehensive cancer center because they will be more aware of this issue.  I'm taking her advice!  My family has a history of both melanoma and breast cancer as well as prostate cancer.

Cydz

Hi Debbsie, There are alot of us on these boards that have had both. I was dx 4/09 with bc and 5/09 with melanoma. So mine were neck and neck. My surgeon told me that he was grateful the melanoma was found before I started chemo because the chemo drugs can make the melanoma cells go haywire. His exact words. So, that said, I felt lucky. The melanoma, however was on my toe (most melanomas on women are on the lower extremities, I have learned) and because I was scheduled for chemo, I didn't have time to wait for a skin graft and ended up losing half of my toe. It was alot to take in all at once and I felt like I was hit by a truck mentally. I have a pretty serious cancer history in my family. I now know I am BRCA1+, which accounts for the breast cancer but oddly enough not the melanoma. I just figured my body was ripe for cancer at that time and it showed up in two places. I had no idea before all of this that people could even get more than one cancer at a time. I now know several women who have been in this situation. You may want to look at the FORCE website. It is all about hereditary cancer. Good luck

Pessa

I had a melanoma on my thigh in 1993.  diagnosed with breast cancer Feb. 2010.  My onc was aware but didn't think the history of melanoma had any bearing on my breast cancer or treatment.

Kathy044

One of my sons was dx'd with melanoma a few months after I was dx with breast cancer and I read about the possible association at that time.

boot2aboot

I am Brca2 and so is my sister...she got stage 3 BC...and i got stage 3 Melanoma...Please, if you are BRCA2 make sure you go to a GOOD dermatologist yearly- and any time they take off a mole, have them scrap 1mm below and around the thing and have it biopsied... and stay the heck away from tanning beds and too much sun...i would much rather have had BC than metastic melanoma...my ONCs agree