RENO, Nev. (KOLO) -His family says singer songwriter Jimmy Buffett continued to perform even after getting his skin cancer diagnosis. Merkel Cell Carcinoma is nearly in a class of its own when it comes to skin cancer. That’s because it is five times more deadly than melanoma, and that’s with early detection. Approximately 2,000 people receive this diagnosis annually.
Reno resident Edgar Anglin was one of them back n 2020.
“I was kind of in shock,” says Anglin. “It hit me real hard at that point. Once you come to terms with it. You just deal with it.”
Anglin says he noticed a lump on his leg which grew quickly. That got his attention and soon the attention of his physicians.
Dr. Cindy Lamerson MD says unfortunately we are seeing more patients diagnosed with Merkel Cell Carcinoma.
“That incidence is increasing by 95% to what it was years ago,” says Dr. Lamerson a Board-Certified Dermatologist. “And what we think it is due to an aging population and also extensive sun exposure.”
Dr. Lamerson says men more than 50-years of age are the most common patient to be diagnosed with Merkel Cell Carcinoma.
Anglin underwent chemotherapy, and radiation for treatment. Now he is on Keytruda a drug which helps the body fight off the cancer.
Anglin says the lesion on his leg never hurt, but soon other tumors appeared. His continued treatment he says has kept Merkel Cell Carcinoma at bay.
However, he says the cancer has a high risk of returning.