Over the last 25 years, rates of the disease have risen in Britain faster than any other common cancer and it is now thought that within the next 15 years there will be around 15,500 cases a year.
All of it down to sunbathing and burning, hence the campaigns to cover up and use sun screen.
Western countries have been steadily fighting back against cancer in recent decades: Britain has recorded a 10% decline in death rates over the past 10 years.
Sayce knows how lucky she has been. A GP spotted her cancer during a consultation for a damaged knee. “She said ‘what’s that lump on the front of your shin?’” recalled Sayce, who had thought nothing of it. A biopsy revealed melanoma – a form of skin cancer.
But today is also a day for even more excitement and celebration. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has approved two drugs for malignant melanoma, a usually fatal form of skin cancer.
The two drugs, Vemurafebib – trade name Zelboraf and Ipilimumab (Yervoy) have increased patient survival and improved their quality of life. Quite simply, they offer hope where there was none before.
There is a footnote, though. Nice initially turned down these drugs because of the cost. But following the publication of their first draft guidance last year which did not recommend ipilimumab, Bristol-Myers Squibb provided extra data and analysis regarding its cost-effectiveness and they also submitted a patient access scheme. And the manufacturer of Vemurafenib, the drug company, Roche, also provided extra information on its effectiveness.
Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit blog. My objective, as a young girl born in 1999, is just to share my passion for Medicine by giving the world some information about the latest tendencies in this field. Please click on the links below to obtain a more detailed information about the articles I have used as a source.
