In The News Patients' underlying health linked to worse outcomes for melanoma Aug. 31, 2011 * "It's not how old but how frail patients are that can predict how well they will fare after a melanoma diagnosis. In fact, young patients in poor health may have worse outcomes than older patients in good shape." Science Daily.com. More.
June 21, 2011: Canadian Cancer Society calls for ban on indoor tanning for Ontario teens. "Melanoma skin cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer for youth between 15 and 29. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has determined that using a tanning bed before the age of 35 can increase a person's risk of developing skin cancer by as much as 75 per cent."
March 10, 2011 - The Canadian Cancer Society had uploaded a video to YouTube called Killer Tan? "It could be. Melanoma skin cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer for people between the ages of 15-29 and the use of indoor tanning beds can increase your risk of by as much as 75%. The truth is tanning is out." Click to go.
Bad QoL related to dropping out of treatment
Health-related Quality of Life Before and During Adjuvant Interferon-α Treatment for Patients With Malignant Melanoma (DeCOG-Trial) Journal of Immunotherapy. 2011 May;34(4):403-408. "Patients who reported having a bad or very bad QoL before treatment were 5.8 times more likely to discontinue treatment early because of psychiatric problems. We conclude that adjuvant low-dose IFN [interferon] treatment is associated with significant deterioration of HRQoL. Specific psychosocial care should be offered especially for patients who report lower HRQoL and emotional problems before treatment to prevent early discontinuation."
The patient experience
Assessment of patient-reported outcomes in patients with melanoma, Surg Oncol Clin N Am. 2011 Jan;20(1):201-13. "Assessment of PROs should be incorporated into routine clinical practice to inform clinicians and researchers of the patient perspective for clinical decision making and to evaluate the effects of psychosocial and medical interventions."
