{"id":1277,"date":"2026-05-29T07:34:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T07:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=1277"},"modified":"2026-05-29T07:34:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T07:34:23","slug":"immunotherapy-giving-new-hope-to-patients-with-advanced-melanoma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=1277","title":{"rendered":"Immunotherapy giving new hope to patients with advanced melanoma"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HOLLYWOOD, Fla. \u2014 A big win is emerging when it comes to treating the most dangerous form of skin cancer.<\/p>\n

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For years, doctors struggled to treat melanoma, especially when the cancer spread to other organs in the body. Chemotherapy often did not work, but newer immunotherapy treatments are now helping save lives.<\/p>\n

Jeff Hill has spent his entire life under the hot Florida sun. <\/p>\n

The 77-year-old owns a popular tree nursery and grew up working on a South Florida farm, where years of ultraviolet exposure damaged his fair skin.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy nose would peel,\u201d Hill said. \u201c I swear all the girls thought I was at the beach.\u201d <\/p>\n

With a history of skin cancer, Hill gets regular skin checks. 10 years ago, his dermatologist found a spot Hill had missed.<\/p>\n

The diagnosis was melanoma.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is different about melanoma is that this cancer is much more aggressive and it tends to spread to other areas of the body rather quickly,\u201d said Dr. Atif Hussein with Memorial Cancer Institute.<\/p>\n

That is exactly what happened to Hill. Tests showed the cancer had also spread to his lungs and liver.<\/p>\n

\u201cI ended up getting that phone call. I didn\u2019t want to get that phone call,\u201d Hill said. \u201cMy PET scan came back positive and it had spread.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hussein said that 15 years ago, Hill\u2019s prognosis would have been grim. But immunotherapy has changed that.<\/p>\n

Hill has been receiving regular infusions for 10 years. The medication activates his own immune system to fight the cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what happens to the immune system,\u201d Hussein said. \u201cNow it says, \u2018Oh my God, yes, there is this foreign cancer in the body that I don\u2019t recognize. I need to go and attack it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to immunotherapy, 60% of patients with stage four melanoma will live 10 years or longer.<\/p>\n

Hill\u2019s cancer disappeared.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a privilege and honor to see someone like Jeff,\u201d Hussein said. \u201cA few years ago, you wouldn\u2019t have expected him to live a couple years. Now he is living, and not just living, he is thriving.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lifesaver for me for sure,\u201d Hill said. \u201cI was really very fortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n

As promising as immunotherapy can be, the treatments are not perfect. The medications that supercharge the immune system to fight cancer can sometimes cause it to mistakenly attack healthy joint tissue, leading to inflammation and arthritis. <\/p>\n

The good news is that in about half of patients, the arthritis goes away on its own once treatment ends.<\/p>\n

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