Regarding his past skin issues, the Senator has received skin care at Mayo Clinic in Arizona since August, 2000. Four malignant melanomas were surgically removed in the past.  Three of these were “in situâ€� melanomas, meaning they were limited to the top layers of the skin and were not invasive.  These three early melanomas – on his left shoulder, left arm and left nasal sidewall, were removed in 1993, 2000 and 2002, respectively.  A fourth melanoma that was invasive was removed from his left lower temple in 2000. 

 

Each melanoma was a new primary melanoma and did not represent a recurrence of any previous melanoma.  There was and is no evidence of recurrence or metastasis—meaning spread—o f the invasive melanoma nearly eight years after surgery. Other less serious skin cancers have been removed over the years without complication. These have been non-melanoma basal cell and squamous cell cancers.

 

Many questions have been asked about the removal of the invasive melanoma from Senator McCain's left lower temple in August 2000.  Dr. Hinni, who performed the surgery, will explain in detail the surgical procedure.  To summarize, we continue to find no evidence of metastasis or recurrence of the invasive melanoma as we approach the eighth anniversary of that operation.  This was most recently confirmed with his comprehensive examination and tests in March 2008 and with Dr. Connolly's skin examination on May 12, 2008.  The prognosis for Senator McCain is good because the time of greatest risk for recurrence of invasive melanoma is within the first few years after the surgery.