Long-term Melanoma Survivors: “Free of Disease”
August 22, 2026
“Clinical trials show nearly 50% of patients treated with advanced immunotherapy are alive at the 10-year mark.”
While doctors are cautious about using the word “cure” for metastatic cancers, several celebrities have discovered it is now possible to live alongside Stage 4 melanoma for years using targeted immunotherapies as combined treatments. The good news is ten-year survival rates have jumped from less than 5% just fifteen years ago to nearly 50% today. Experts say this success has been driven by pioneering-clinical trials devoted to testing immunotherapies with individualized treatments that target the patient’s unique needs.
“Indeed clinical trials have played a major role in improving the care that today's oncology team can offer patients at all stages following the diagnosis of melanoma,” explains Orlando Mohs surgeon Dr. Michael Steppie. “Unlike more common basal and squamous cell carcinomas in epithelial cells under the skin that rarely spread, melanoma is a more aggressive form that can suddenly metastisize to other parts of the body if not discovered early on."
Although most melanomas grow on the skin, all melanomas start in the skin’s pigment-making cells called melanocytes. Melanoma often looks like a new mole or an old mole that has changed in shape, color, size (a diameter over 6mm), or is evolving either horizontally across the top of the skin or plunging vertically into deeper tissues. Since most forms of melanoma arise as a new spot rather than from existing moles, these are likely due to uncorrected DNA damage to melanocytes from cumulative ultraviolet exposure. Although the body fixes most cellular injury, UV radiation breaks and alters DNA strands and the leftover damage can become permanent gene mutations.
Living Alongside Stage 4 Cancer for a Long Time
Some people diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma may have already had treatment for the skin disease at an earlier stage, but for others, they may only be learning they have the cancer after it is at the Stage 4 point. Although Stage 4 melanoma cannot be fully cured, treatments like the surgical removal of tumors and lymph nodes combined with targeted immunotherapies have greatly improved patient’s ability to control it for as long as possible. Primarily depending upon your particular situation, your oncology team will decide what will help to control your disease.
Recently in an exclusive article with People magazine, William Shatner (the infamous Captain Kirk of Star Trek) and his daughter Melanie Shatner Gretsch shared with their fans how both he at age 95 and her at age 61 fought Stage 4 melanoma and Stage 4 breast cancer respectfully. After both were diagnosed with advanced cancers three years ago, they launched a health, wellness, and longevity podcast called No Time but Now, and today both are “Free of Disease.” Shatner successfully underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his face, which was combined with 2 years of immunotherapy to target cancer in his lungs and brain.
Dallas Cowboy owner Jerry Jones also revealed to followers that he is currently tumor-free after a 10-year battle with Stage 4 melanoma. Jones credits an experimental PD-1 immunotherapy trial with saving his life after he underwent four surgeries (two on his lungs and two on his lymph nodes). In addition, the former alumni of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Teddi Mellencamp, who was diagnosed with melanoma after years of skin damage from having routinely applied a mixture of baby oil and iodine to her skin in her youth, continues regular immunotherapy treatments, but reiterates with “no trace of melanoma.”
Signs a Melanoma Lesion Has Spread
Melanoma lesions are serious skin growths and superficial spreading typically includes an unusual or a changing skin spot. Doctors use the ABCDE guide to spot symptoms: asymmetry (uneven halves), border irregularity (jagged edges), color variation (mixed shades like brown, black, red, or blue), diameter over 6 mm, and evolving size, shape, or color. Common warning signs also include:
- New or Changing Spots: A brand new mole or an old mole changing in size, shape, or color. The melanoma grows sideways along the top layer of skin for months or even years to 6mm or more.
- The "Ugly Duckling" Sign: A spot that looks different from all of your other normal moles. Catching the lesion while it is in situ and confined to the epidermis means little to no risk of metastasis.
- Mixed Colors: Shades of tan, brown, black, blue, pink, or white within the same lesion. Once the melanoma starts growing downward, the risk of reaching blood or lymph nodes increases.
- Physical Feelings: The spot may occasionally itch, crust, or bleed. If spread happens, it most commonly appears within the first one to three years after the primary tumor develops or has been treated.
Superficial spreading melanoma grows slowly and typically takes months to several years to penetrate deep skin layers and metastasize. Because it initially spreads horizontally across the surface, it has a high survival rate when found early, unlike aggressive types like nodular melanoma. You can spot melanoma warning signs by using the ABCDE guide to watch for an "ugly duckling" spot or any lesion that does not match your other moles.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - MELANOMA
How DNA damage increases melanoma risk factors?
A family history of skin cancer suggests the person may have an increased risk of inherited genetic factors, as does having naturally fair skin, light hair or a high number of moles and freckles. Mutated genes stop regulating cell division, causing abnormal cells to multiply. But only about 5% to 15% of all cancers are caused by inheriting a mutated gene from a parent, but it does raise a person’s baseline risk of disease. That said, a majority of genetic changes happen during a person’s lifetime and due to aging, smoking, UV exposure, or poor dietary habits.
What percentage of melanoma are due to UV exposure?
Roughly 90% of melanoma skin cancer cases are directly related to UV radiation from natural sunlight or artificial sources like indoor tanning devices. It is these sources of ultraviolet rays that can damage DNA in skin cells causing them to rapidly grow out of control. Unfortunately, intense sunburns as a child or teenager increase one’s lifetime risks of disease and having just five blistering sunburns doubles their risk of developing melanoma later in life.
Is superficial spreading common with melanoma lesions?
Melanoma lesions are serious skin growths that often start as a new spot or as a change in an old mole. Either can be a superficial spreading, which is the most common type of melanoma. It initially grows horizontally outward along the top layer of skin and accounts for around 70% of all melanoma cases diagnosed each year. It can show mixed colors, appears frequently on the back in men and on the legs in women, but usually stays in the epidermis for months or years before moving deeper. Melanoma becomes a more invasive cancer once it breaks through to deeper skin layers.
Are growth patterns common with melanoma?
Yes, melanoma evolves differently depending on its subtype that determines whether it initially grows horizontally across the top skin layer (radial) or dives deeper into lower skin tissues (vertical). Melanoma lesions with outward spreads within the epidermis often appear as flat, irregular patches on the skin. On the other hand, vertical melanomas invade subcutaneous tissue and form nodules that also have a higher metastatic risk of spreading.
Can melanoma behave differently from one to another?
Yes, nodular melanoma skips the flat phase and rapidly grows straight down into the skin as a dark, dome-shaped bump. Plus, acral lentiginous is commonly seen in diverse, darker skin tones (see Tragic Death of Bob Marley), but it too spreads horizontally in the palms of the hands, sole of the feet, as well as under fingernails and toenails as linear nail bands that are brown or black and wider than 5mm. Conversely, lentigo maligna is a slow flat-surface melanoma that often spreads on sun-damage facial skin in older men and women.
How does toenail melanoma mimic everyday foot issues?
Because it is rare and mimics harmless foot issues like a toenail bruise from an injury, this type of sublingual melanoma can easily be misdiagnosed at first. Blood trapped under the nail from stubbing a toe looks like a dark band, but it grows out with the nail over time. Unfortunately, benign pigmentation and fungal infections might also cause discoloration and nail debris that resembles toenail melanoma. However, normal movement for a bruise moves forward as the nail grows but melanoma does not grow out. It is; the most common form of melanoma found on the feet and hands for people with darker skin tones.
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According to the American Cancer Society, millions of skin cancer cases are now diagnosed each year among baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964. Moreover, it was likely the boomers excessive exposure to UV radiation from sunlight or indoor tanning that caused this rise in skin cancer cases. Today, dermatologists feel that many of the skin cancer-related deaths were potentially preventable with proper sun protection, such as wearing protective clothing, sunglasses that block UV rays, avoiding sun exposure during peak hours, applying broad-spectrum sunscreen of at least SPF 30, and avoiding indoor tanning booths. Call 800-827-7546 or schedule your appointment online today at one of our thirteen Central Florida offices in Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Celebration, Clermont, Davenport, Dr. Philips, Hunter's Creek, Kissimmee, Mount Dora, Ocoee, Poinciana, or St. Cloud.
