HOUSTON -- The risk of developing melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is growing and doctors continue to search for reasons why.
But there is new hope for those battling an enemy many consider invincible.
Hilde Stapleton believes art is a gateway to her soul. A portrait from May 1999 reveals the pain of the ugliest time in her life.
She calls the portrait "the face of melanoma." The disease started with an itch behind her knee 12 years ago and nearly ended her life. A diagnosis of stage 4 melanoma soon became an enemy she just couldn't topple.
The cancer even spread to Stapleton's knee, thigh and lungs. But after 10 surgeries and 3 rounds of chemotherapy, she had a stroke and nearly died.
But Stapleton's doctors at MD Anderson entered her into a trial for a new cancer-killing drug. And it worked.
Stapleton's now in remission and credits MD Anderson's drug trial for saving her life.
Oncologist Dr Kevin Kim says these types of trials are symbols of hope in the fight against melanoma, an aggressive cancer that is often resistant to chemotherapy.
"Now we see some survivor benefit, finally for the first time in 30 years or more." said Kim. "This is a very promising time for sure."
Dr Kim is also excited about a promising new drug that started its trials at MD Anderson. Nearly half of the advanced-stage melanoma patients who were treated with the drug saw major improvements. It should receive FDA approval by the end of the year.
"We can customize with better medicines in five years," said Kim. "I believe in five years we will have a definite impact on the survival of patients."
It's brings hope to cancer survivors like Hilde, who hopes "the face of melanoma" is just a painful memory.
