Bret Michaels and his longtime band Poison were inducted into the Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame this week. Michaels took to Instagram to give the non-profit organization a shout out and explain how honored he is as a Mechanicsburg, Pa. native to be recognized.
RELATED: Skin Cancer is Not Slowing Him Down — Bret Michaels is Out on the Road After Health Update
Read MoreThe Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame is a non-profit dedicated to getting young people involved in the arts. It works to educate local youth with music scholarships, offer complementary music camps, and recognize music educators, according to the organization’s website.
Bret Michaels’ Cancer Announcement
In a health update posted to his website and social media accounts earlier this month, Michaels announced that he would be undergoing surgery to have skin cancer removed. The frontman made it clear in the announcement, though, that he planned to continue touring and doing what he does best — and he’s so far kept that promise.
“It may slow me down a bit at the beginning of the year, but if God willing I promise this year will be awesome. Just a few less solo shows & special events until I get this all squared up,” Michaels wrote.
Medical Update & Message From Bret Michaels >>> https://t.co/GWR2cqvqvA – Team Bret????????#Unbroken pic.twitter.com/sbAElgjP9C
Bret Michaels (@bretmichaels) January 16, 2020
Michaels has yet to cancel any shows. He recently played in Oklahoma and will be heading to New York City, North Carolina and Vegas in February. Michaels will also hit the road with Poison this summer, joining Def Leppard, Motley Crue and Joan Jett for “The Stadium Tour.”
What Are the Treatment Options?
Michaels did not disclose what type of skin cancer he has in his initial health update, nor what stage the cancer was diagnosed at but did say he was going to "undergo a procedure to remove skin cancer that was detected after a recent biopsy."
RELATED: How to Do a Self Skin Check for Cancer
For many skin cancers, such as melanoma, surgery is the best treatment option. In a previous conversation with SurvivorNet, NYU dermatologist Dr. Anna Pavlick explained that in the early stages of melanoma, where the disease has not spread to other parts of the body, the cure rates for surgery are very high.
Dr. Anna Pavlick on how melanoma treatment has "come a long way"
“Patients with stage 1 melanoma are cured by excision 90% of the time,” Dr. Pavlick said. “So only about 10% of stage 1 patients will ever have the risk of that coming back. Patients with stage 2 disease have about a 75% to 80% chance of being fine — this is why we watch patients very closely … patients with stage 3 disease probably have a 50/50 chance of being OK with a surgical resection. However, we now have brand new medicines or immunotherapy medicines that can significantly reduce their risk of this ever coming back.”
Even for patients with stage 4 disease, Dr. Pavlick noted, the treatment options have come a long way in the past decade. Immunotherapy, for example, has been shown to be successful — for certain patients — at treating metastatic melanoma long-term.
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