Almost all types of cancer can be frightening, but it’s important to focus on the odds. When I was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma in 1975, it was considered a death sentence. However, I was young and healthy, and my doctors devised a tough course of chemotherapy that was brutally painful but effective. Although cancer treatments have improved significantly since then, the odds of survival vary depending on various factors.

I’ve also battled bladder cancer (1979) and colon cancer (1998), both unrelated to each other or my previous melanoma diagnosis. I know that eventually, cancer may claim my life, but I’m currently 76 and still going strong.