{"id":7339,"date":"2024-04-15T15:28:59","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T15:28:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/?p=7339"},"modified":"2024-04-16T13:33:42","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T13:33:42","slug":"10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Things Everyone Should Know About Advanced Skin Cancers","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Our expert, New York City medical oncologist Anna C. Pavlick, DO, shares her top insights from 25 years of experience treating patients with advanced skin cancers. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Thanks to the success of prevention and early detection campaigns (like The Skin Cancer Foundation\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/early-detection\/the-big-see\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Big See program<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">), most skin cancers today are diagnosed and treated in the early stage. Still, any type of skin cancer, whether common or rare, can grow, spread and become dangerous or even life-threatening.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">About 8,000 people in the U.S. die from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/skin-cancer-information\/melanoma\/the-stages-of-melanoma\/\">advanced melanoma\u00a0<\/a>each year, and about 65 percent of those are men. The far more common types of skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma, or BCC, and squamous cell carcinoma, or SCC) also affect men more than women. These types have lower mortality rates, but because of their high prevalence, thousands may die from them.\u00a0<span data-contrast=\"auto\">New York City medical oncologist Anna C. Pavlick, DO, has been overseeing the care of patients with advanced skin cancer for more than 25 years. She cares deeply about patient education and encourages everyone to take a skin cancer diagnosis seriously. Here, in her own words, she shares what she wants everyone to know.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong> 1. <\/strong><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If you <\/span><\/b><b><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">are<\/span><\/i><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> diagnosed with advanced skin cancer, this is the best time in history for that to happen to you.<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">When I started<\/span> <span data-contrast=\"auto\">in this field, we had almost no treatment for any type of advanced skin cancer. It was dismal. We gave patients chemotherapy, which was not that helpful \u2014 and many died. But now, for the past 12 or 13 years, we have had an explosion of scientific breakthroughs and FDA approvals of systemic medicines. Targeted therapies and immunotherapies have changed the outcome for patients dramatically. These medications not only have slowed advanced disease but, in some cases, have cured it. This recent period of new treatments has been life changing. No physician likes to tell a patient they have advanced cancer, but it is comforting to know that yes, now we do have therapies and yes, they are highly effective.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">2. It is crucial to take any suspicion or diagnosis of advanced cancer seriously and ask this important question.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If I had<\/span> <span data-contrast=\"auto\">a dime for every person who I\u2019ve heard say, \u201cBut it was just a skin cancer,\u201d I could retire in style! If you are diagnosed with any form of skin cancer that becomes advanced, whether it\u2019s a BCC, SCC, melanoma or Merkel cell carcinoma, you should always ask your dermatologist, \u201cDo you think I need to see a medical oncologist?\u201d If it\u2019s melanoma, for example, you probably don\u2019t need to see an oncologist if you are diagnosed as stage I. But if you\u2019ve got a stage II or greater tumor, you should at least have a conversation with your dermatologist about consulting with a medical oncologist to discuss the risks and potential benefits of systemic treatment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">3. The oncologist is the driver of a multidisciplinary team.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">With advanced cancers, I tell people that I\u2019m driving the car. Let\u2019s say I have a very big SUV with lots of seats for dermatologists, surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists \u2014 they all get to ride in the car, but I\u2019m doing the driving. Patients need to know, \u201cWho\u2019s my go-to? If something happens, who do I call?\u201d Patients can always start with the medical oncologist. If it is not something that I can help you with, I\u2019ll be able to direct you. Or I can ask you to come into the office where I can assess it, and then let\u2019s go from there depending on what we find. You may need to go to a surgeon, you might need to get some new imaging, we may need to do a biopsy. Patients need one good contact person, and if we communicate and collaborate well, things will go smoothly and the patient will know where to go when, and what the next steps are.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">4. If you want to get a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/is-it-time-to-seek-a-second-opinion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">second opinion<\/a>, you should.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If patients ask about a second opinion, I tell them they should do what they\u2019re comfortable with. Some people feel like they\u2019ve already done their homework and just want to come in and get started. Others may feel like they need more information and options. If you or your family members want to get a second opinion, oncologists understand and are fine with that \u2014 and will even help you get a second opinion. Please make sure you get it from somebody reputable. Beyond that, you need to feel comfortable with your doctor and how they communicate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">5. Bring someone with you to your appointments, if possible.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">I always recommend that patients bring someone with them to their appointments to help them hear and understand what is said, and even take notes. It is very hard to absorb everything when newly diagnosed. If a patient can\u2019t bring somebody, it also works to have a loved one on the phone (put it on speaker) to listen in. Sometimes people can\u2019t leave work, get childcare or even leave their home, but they can listen. And that can mean so much to a patient.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">6. Yes, treatment is urgent for any advanced skin cancer, but \u2026<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">I often say that \u201ccancer doesn\u2019t wait for anybody.\u201d There is always a sense of urgency; the sooner that we address the issue, the better. Yes, there can be side effects from advanced skin cancer treatments (and those should be reported right away to your oncologist). But for many patients, the side effects are not terrible, so it shouldn\u2019t affect planning too much. Say a patient has their daughter\u2019s wedding three months from now. I\u2019m going to say, \u201cThat gives us three months to get you feeling better. So why don\u2019t we start, and we can always take a break around the wedding.\u201d We can work around things that are important in people\u2019s lives. It shouldn\u2019t be all about cancer. You\u2019re taking this treatment to improve the quality of your life so you can enjoy it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">7. It\u2019s important to discuss, monitor and treat side effects.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">When we talk about immunotherapy, I\u2019m going to hand you information about the medicine I\u2019m giving you, and you\u2019re going to read things in the brochure that are going to scare you. We must do it because it\u2019s a legal document. But then, we talk realistically about the things that are most likely to happen: Itching and rash, for example, are common and can be a sign that your immune system is doing its job to fight the cancer. These drugs are metabolized by your liver and your kidneys, so we check your liver and your kidneys often. We talk about diarrhea, and pneumonitis (inflammation of the lungs) \u2014 these are side effects that we are very familiar with managing quickly to resolve the problem. We know how to treat them, and they go away. There are also side effects that we would have to fix with medicine, sometimes for life (such as thyroid replacement), because the immune system tends to attack the organs that produce hormones. We weigh all of this information before determining the course of your treatment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">8. Ask about financial help to pay for your medicine.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Don\u2019t be afraid to talk about finances; it\u2019s just as important as reporting side effects to your oncologist. Many of the therapies we give are covered. If you are a Medicare patient, Medicare pays the 80 percent, and your secondary plan picks up the 20 percent. But some treatments may not be covered, and you may get socked with a large copay. Don\u2019t just accept that. Many of the drug companies offer patient support. There are assistance programs that have grant funding for patients, and it may greatly reduce the cost. But you should make the effort and ask your doctors and advocate for yourself. Also ask if there is a specialty pharmacy in your area that may have a negotiated discounted rate or grant program.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">9. If your medicine didn\u2019t help you, <\/span><\/b><b><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">it\u2019s not your fault<\/span><\/i><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, and there may be other things to try.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">I tell the patient that the <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">treatment<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> failed. The patient didn\u2019t fail; they did everything they were supposed to do. It was their tumor that did not respond. It\u2019s not God punishing you. It\u2019s cancer, and it sucks. I try to frame it that our therapies are very effective, but you need to understand that they are not 100 percent effective. We don\u2019t know whose tumor is going to respond and whose tumor is not going to respond until we treat it. If your tumor is responding, we\u2019re going to keep going. But if your tumor is not responding, we have other options that we\u2019re going to go to next.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW75780275 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW75780275 BCX0\">Don\u2019t be afraid to talk about<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW75780275 BCX0\"> finances. <\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW75780275 BCX0\">It\u2019s just as important as reporting side effects to your oncologist. There are<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW75780275 BCX0\"> patient assistance<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW75780275 BCX0\"> programs for funding. Advocate for yourself.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">10. Research continues.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The great news is that the boom in breakthroughs for advanced cancers is not over. More research and promising treatments are in the pipeline. Also, as we get better agents, we may be able to push the envelope and treat even earlier tumors with new methods.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, I had my eye on the progress of tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy. TILs are naturally occurring immune cells that can recognize unique tumor markers on cancer cells in the body and attack and kill them.\u00a0In February of 2024, the FDA approved Lifileucel (Amtagvi), a cellular therapy designed to enhance the patient\u2019s own TILs outside the body and then deliver them back to the patient to attack the cancer cells.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other research is happening all the time, including progress on vaccines that could help prevent recurrence of advanced skin cancer.\u00a0As we continue to move science toward even better options with less toxicity, we are going to push our patient successes higher and never stop until no one dies from advanced skin cancer ever again.<\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Anna C. Pavlick, DO, MBA,<\/span><\/b><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> is a medical oncologist and professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology &amp; Medical Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. She is the founding director of the Cutaneous Oncology Program at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian. Dr. Pavlick\u2019s major research interests include investigating targeted therapies, combination therapies and immunotherapies.<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our expert oncologist shares her top insights from 25 years of experience treating patients with advanced skin cancers.  <\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":2,"featured_media":7340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2880],"tags":[5607,5496,5534,2900],"class_list":["post-7339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-skin-cancer-foundation-journal","tag-advanced-skin-cancers","tag-coping-with-skin-cancer","tag-detect-skin-cancer","tag-skin-cancer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.3 (Yoast SEO v25.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>10 Things Everyone Should Know About Advanced Skin Cancers - The Skin Cancer Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Our expert oncologist shares her top insights from 25 years of experience treating patients with advanced skin cancers.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 Things Everyone Should Know About Advanced Skin Cancers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our expert oncologist shares her top insights from 25 years of experience treating patients with advanced skin cancers.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Skin Cancer Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/skincancerfoundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-15T15:28:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-16T13:33:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2023-04-27-at-5.21.19-PM.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1172\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Julie Bain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@skincancerorg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@skincancerorg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Julie Bain\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Julie Bain\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#\/schema\/person\/e05673ef4d60255e455764b227bca2fa\"},\"headline\":\"10 Things Everyone Should Know About Advanced Skin Cancers\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-15T15:28:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-16T13:33:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/\"},\"wordCount\":1745,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2023-04-27-at-5.21.19-PM.png\",\"keywords\":[\"advanced skin cancers\",\"coping with skin cancer\",\"detect skin cancer\",\"skin cancer\"],\"articleSection\":[\"The Skin Cancer Foundation Journal\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/\",\"name\":\"10 Things Everyone Should Know About Advanced Skin Cancers - The Skin Cancer Foundation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2023-04-27-at-5.21.19-PM.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-15T15:28:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-16T13:33:42+00:00\",\"description\":\"Our expert oncologist shares her top insights from 25 years of experience treating patients with advanced skin cancers.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2023-04-27-at-5.21.19-PM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2023-04-27-at-5.21.19-PM.png\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1172},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"10 Things Everyone Should Know About Advanced Skin Cancers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/\",\"name\":\"The Skin Cancer Foundation\",\"description\":\"Education, prevention, early detection, and treatment of skin cancer\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Skin Cancer Foundation\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/SCF-LOGO.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/SCF-LOGO.png\",\"width\":273,\"height\":291,\"caption\":\"The Skin Cancer Foundation\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/skincancerfoundation\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/skincancerorg\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/skincancerorg\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/the-skin-cancer-foundation\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/skincancer\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SkinCancerFoundation\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Skin_Cancer_Foundation\",\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@skincancerorg\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#\/schema\/person\/e05673ef4d60255e455764b227bca2fa\",\"name\":\"Julie Bain\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27e26e3043c9ef8a55e0b8899be12a70?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27e26e3043c9ef8a55e0b8899be12a70?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Julie Bain\"},\"description\":\"As senior director of science &amp; education, Julie Bain leads the effort to ensure that The Skin Cancer Foundation is at the forefront of all medical and scientific information related to educating the public and health-care professionals about skin cancer prevention, early detection and treatment. She acts as chief editor and content strategist for\u202fThe Skin Cancer Foundation Journal\u202fand patient education materials. She collaborates with our teams on content for use across all platforms by writing, reviewing and editing for our editorial standards. A longtime health and science writer and editor, she brought a personal history of skin cancer and a passion for the Foundation\u2019s mission to the job in 2015. Previously, Bain served as health director for print and digital at\u202fLadies\u2019 Home Journal\u202fand\u202fReader\u2019s Digest and has written for many brands including\u202fThe New York Times, Web MD, Popular Science, AARP, SELF\u202fand others. She lives in New York City, where she uses sunscreen every day and always walks on the shady side of the street.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/author\/jbain\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/author\/jbain\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"10 Things Everyone Should Know About Advanced Skin Cancers - The Skin Cancer Foundation","description":"Our expert oncologist shares her top insights from 25 years of experience treating patients with advanced skin cancers.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"10 Things Everyone Should Know About Advanced Skin Cancers","og_description":"Our expert oncologist shares her top insights from 25 years of experience treating patients with advanced skin cancers.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/","og_site_name":"The Skin Cancer Foundation","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/skincancerfoundation","article_published_time":"2024-04-15T15:28:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-04-16T13:33:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1172,"url":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2023-04-27-at-5.21.19-PM.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Julie Bain","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@skincancerorg","twitter_site":"@skincancerorg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Julie Bain","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/"},"author":{"name":"Julie Bain","@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#\/schema\/person\/e05673ef4d60255e455764b227bca2fa"},"headline":"10 Things Everyone Should Know About Advanced Skin Cancers","datePublished":"2024-04-15T15:28:59+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-16T13:33:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/"},"wordCount":1745,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2023-04-27-at-5.21.19-PM.png","keywords":["advanced skin cancers","coping with skin cancer","detect skin cancer","skin cancer"],"articleSection":["The Skin Cancer Foundation Journal"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/","url":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/","name":"10 Things Everyone Should Know About Advanced Skin Cancers - The Skin Cancer Foundation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2023-04-27-at-5.21.19-PM.png","datePublished":"2024-04-15T15:28:59+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-16T13:33:42+00:00","description":"Our expert oncologist shares her top insights from 25 years of experience treating patients with advanced skin cancers.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2023-04-27-at-5.21.19-PM.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2023-04-27-at-5.21.19-PM.png","width":1920,"height":1172},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-advanced-skin-cancers\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"10 Things Everyone Should Know About Advanced Skin Cancers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/","name":"The Skin Cancer Foundation","description":"Education, prevention, early detection, and treatment of skin cancer","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#organization","name":"The Skin Cancer Foundation","url":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/SCF-LOGO.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/SCF-LOGO.png","width":273,"height":291,"caption":"The Skin Cancer Foundation"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/skincancerfoundation","https:\/\/x.com\/skincancerorg","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/skincancerorg\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/the-skin-cancer-foundation\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/skincancer\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SkinCancerFoundation","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Skin_Cancer_Foundation","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@skincancerorg"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#\/schema\/person\/e05673ef4d60255e455764b227bca2fa","name":"Julie Bain","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27e26e3043c9ef8a55e0b8899be12a70?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27e26e3043c9ef8a55e0b8899be12a70?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Julie Bain"},"description":"As senior director of science &amp; education, Julie Bain leads the effort to ensure that The Skin Cancer Foundation is at the forefront of all medical and scientific information related to educating the public and health-care professionals about skin cancer prevention, early detection and treatment. She acts as chief editor and content strategist for\u202fThe Skin Cancer Foundation Journal\u202fand patient education materials. She collaborates with our teams on content for use across all platforms by writing, reviewing and editing for our editorial standards. A longtime health and science writer and editor, she brought a personal history of skin cancer and a passion for the Foundation\u2019s mission to the job in 2015. Previously, Bain served as health director for print and digital at\u202fLadies\u2019 Home Journal\u202fand\u202fReader\u2019s Digest and has written for many brands including\u202fThe New York Times, Web MD, Popular Science, AARP, SELF\u202fand others. She lives in New York City, where she uses sunscreen every day and always walks on the shady side of the street.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/author\/jbain\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/blog\/author\/jbain\/"}]}},"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skincancer.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}