Merkel is a rare, but aggressive, skin cancer

It was revealed that Buffett had been diagnosed with Merkel four years ago after his recent death. — TNS

Unlike melanoma, the skin cancer that American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett recently died of, is rare.

And it’s stealthier.

It’s also aggressive: Merkel cell carcinoma, like melanoma, can spread to the lymph nodes, but often more quickly, says skin cancer expert Dr Vernon Sondak.

It’s harder to detect, lacking the signature of melanoma.

“When you go to the dermatologist, they’re looking for some very characteristic signs of skin cancer, like basil and squamous cell carcinoma; they’re looking for the ABCDs of melanoma,” says H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute Department of Cutaneous Oncology chair in Florida, United States.

“There are no reliable markers or indicators of Merkel cell cancer.”

It tends to appear as a small reddish or purple bump under the skin that some might confuse with a cyst, a boil, an infection or a splinter.

It’s usually diagnosed through a biopsy.

If left unchecked, it can spread throughout the body like melanoma, though odds are it will spread more quickly.

So Dr Sondak’s advice is not to wait for an annual dermatology visit if something odd appears on your skin.

Get it checked straight away.

So why has virtually no one heard of Merkel?

It tends to attack older people who’ve spent time in the sun or have weakened immune systems, perhaps due to a bout with another cancer.

Researchers have learned a lot about it in the past decade though.

For instance, treatments against melanoma also work against Merkel.

Those treatments can go on for months, or even years.

But once seemingly vanquished, Merkel can unfortunately reappear, Dr Sondak says.

Buffett, whose best known song is probably Margaritaville, had been battling the disease for four years before succumbing to it at the age of 76. – By Ty Tagami/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Tribune News Service