New Melanoma Drug Shows Great Promise And Could Be Available By December

Melanoma. It is the dealiest form of skin cancer.

But today, there is real hope! And we should be quietly celebrating the advancement of science, because now there is a promising new drug that helps those who have melanoma.

The drug is called Ipilimumab and it was found to, "significantly improve survival in a major study of people with advanced disease.". The biotechnology drug, helps to activate the immune system's T-cells to fight the cancer. And it's being developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Wow. That is major news, and the findings were just reported yesterday at a cancer conference.

In the 676-patient study, more than 20 percent of those who took Ipilimumab were alive after two years, with some alive four years after receiving the immunotherapy, according to data from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago.

"I think this a breakthrough for the field of metastatic melanoma that has had a lot of negative Phase 3 trials in the last decade. It's impacting survival, which is the gold standard in cancer clinical trials," says Dr. Steven O'Day, director of the melanoma program at The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute in Santa Monica, Calif, and one of the study's lead investigators."

Look--we hate talking about skin cancer. We all want to have fun in the sun, and of course, most of us have forgotten to slap on the sunscreen from time to time. And many of us did significant damage to our skin years ago, as children, by playing under the hot rays hour upon hour. And we know plenty of tanning bed addicts who love that beautiful bronze look. We don't mean to preach, but the facts are out there: The sun does bad things to your skin. So, be extra careful when you go out to enjoy life.

Just the wrinkles and deep lines alone, should have us running for cover.

For more information on this promising new Melanoma drug, click here.