05/11/2019
Bob Marley died due to melanoma. He was only 36 years old. His melanoma started under his big toenail in 1977. The first doctor that he consulted thought that it was a soccer injury. After it began to look worse, Marley consulted another doctor who biopsied the spot and discovered that it was melanoma. The recommendation was to amputate his toe, but Marley chose to have excision surgery instead, during which the surgeon removed the nail and surrounding tissue. Marley had no further treatment and did well until he collapsed in New York City in 1980. He was rushed to the hospital and tests revealed that the melanoma had spread to his brain, lungs and stomach. He refused his doctor's treatment plan and went to Germany to try alternative treatments including exercise, ozone injections and vitamins. Marley's condition continued to worsen and he decided to charter a plane in order to return to Jamaica. While in flight, Marley's condition became critical and the plane did an emergency landing in Miami where he passed away. He never made it back to his beloved Jamaica. Marley was reportedly only 82 pounds when he passed away. We share Marley's story every time we teach about melanoma because his story demonstrates that even people with darker skin can get melanoma. In addition, in those with dark skin melanoma often develops in places that do not get a lot of sun exposure like in the mouth, on the tongue, under finger nails and toenails and on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. RIP Bob Marley. Just like your music, your melanoma story lives on to educate people about the dangers.
Comment from the doctor:
We greatly appreciate everyoneβs continued interest and comments on our post. This has supported our original intent to increase awareness of melanoma and how deadly it can be if not caught early. In addition, we also wanted to raise awareness that melanoma can occur in patients of any skin type and in areas you may least expect. Fortunately, if caught early, surgery is curative. A simple yearly skin exam regardless of color could save your life. As a physician scientist, who performed years of research in melanoma, it was not my intent to initiate a debate on the role of the sun and melanoma pathogenesis, which is still controversial and can vary based on melanoma subtype and location (ie. lentigo maligna melanoma). However, the role of excessive sun exposure is NOT in debate in the pathogenesis of other skin cancers such as squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma. Studies in Australia have shown the use of sunscreen can reduce the risk of these skin cancers by 50% in patients as old as 75. Regardless of your personal choice to use sunscreen and sun avoidance and whether this may reduce your risk to get a skin cancer of any type, there is no doubt that an annual skin exam could save your life. Thank you for your continued contribution in enhancing melanoma awareness.
- Dr. Kevin T. Nash
MD, PhD, FAAD