{"id":832817,"date":"2026-05-30T17:41:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T17:41:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/832817\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T17:41:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T17:41:29","slug":"after-a-brachytherapy-clinical-trial-stage-4-melanoma-is-now-cancer-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/832817\/","title":{"rendered":"After a brachytherapy clinical trial, stage 4 melanoma is now cancer-free"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first time Stacy Dixon was diagnosed with melanoma<\/a>, she wasn\u2019t too concerned. A dermatologist in Oklahoma was able to successfully remove the little pinkish<\/a> mole<\/a> she\u2019d noticed on her right arm in 2016 with just one surgery. Her annual checkups remained clear for the next five years.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter that, the doctor said I didn\u2019t need to come see him anymore,\u201d Stacy recalls.<\/p>\n

But in September 2022, Stacy noticed some unusual bumps on her back, upper arm and scalp. A biopsy<\/a> revealed that the lump just above her left ear was melanoma. Additional scans<\/a> showed suspicious spots in her lungs and the right frontal lobe of her brain. When oncologists near her home in Tulsa recommended immunotherapy<\/a> followed by brain surgery<\/a>, Stacy wanted a second opinion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when she turned to UT MD Anderson.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just didn\u2019t feel comfortable staying local for something that important,\u201d she says. \u201cThere are a lot of good doctors in Oklahoma. But brain surgery is a very big deal. I didn\u2019t want to mess around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here, she found the expertise she needed \u2014 and a clinical trial<\/a> involving a new form of brachytherapy<\/a> that could change the standard of care for patients with brain metastases<\/a>.<\/p>\n

New tile-based brachytherapy means no delay for receiving radiation<\/b><\/p>\n

At UT MD Anderson, Stacy met first with Hussein Tawbi, M.D., Ph.D.<\/a>, a medical oncologist who specializes in the treatment of melanoma and co-directs the Andrew M. McDougall Brain Metastasis Clinic and Research Program<\/a>. Tawbi confirmed both Stacy\u2019s diagnosis<\/a> and that the immunotherapy recommended by her local oncologist were appropriate.<\/p>\n

But he also gave Stacy another option to consider: a new clinical trial being co-led by neurosurgeon Jeffrey Weinberg, M.D.<\/a>, and radiation oncologist Thomas Beckham, M.D., Ph.D.<\/a><\/p>\n

The trial involved a tile-based form of brachytherapy, which looks like a thin wafer about the size of a postage stamp. The wafer is made of dissolvable collagen and studded with little radioactive seeds. Each seed gives off radiation for about 30 days. Neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists work together to line the surfaces of the cavities left behind after cancerous<\/a> growths are removed to deliver radiation directly to the tumor beds.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince they start delivering radiation immediately, you don\u2019t have to wait to heal from surgery before you take the next step in your treatment plan,\u201d Stacy says. \u201cYou also don\u2019t have to have your whole brain irradiated just to treat one or two small areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trust, confidence and passion led to clinical trial participation<\/b><\/p>\n

Tawbi, Weinberg and Beckham all thought Stacy was a good candidate for the clinical trial. So, she took their advice and had the craniotomy at UT MD Anderson on Nov. 18, 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cI trusted my care team,\u201d Stacy says of her decision to join the trial. \u201cThey were confident and worked really well together. The level of care I got from them was amazing. Plus, I could see their passion for what they do. I love that UT MD Anderson is always pushing the limits, looking for the next great thing. I feel super fortunate to have had the opportunity to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve already shown brachytherapy\u2019s effectiveness in other cancers,\u201d adds Weinberg, who will present the clinical trial\u2019s findings<\/a> at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting<\/a> on May 30. \u201cBut this is the first time anyone has used it this successfully in the brain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weinberg notes that the trial showed these implants can control brain metastases better than the standard of care.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis new technique is not just \u2018as good as,\u2019 but superior to the other way,\u201d he says. \u201cStill, we don\u2019t make discoveries like these without people who are willing to be on clinical trials. It takes a lot of courage to try something new. So, we are incredibly grateful to Stacy and all the other patients who participated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I would do it all over again\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

Stacy ended up needing a second brain surgery in February 2025 to make sure some shadows<\/a> on her scans were dead tissue rather than another recurrence<\/a>. But she\u2019s shown no evidence of disease<\/a> since her first brain surgery in 2022, and is back to living a full, normal life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s another bad haircut<\/a> if it means I don\u2019t have to worry<\/a>?\u201d Stacy says. \u201cI really hit the jackpot with my care team at UT MD Anderson. I have zero issues now. And, I got to watch my daughter graduate from high school last year. So, I would do it all over again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Request an appointment at UT MD Anderson online<\/b><\/a> or call 1-877-632-6789.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first time Stacy Dixon was diagnosed with melanoma, she wasn\u2019t too concerned. A dermatologist in Oklahoma was…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":832818,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5130],"tags":[74008,330221,341547,37967,3738,138220,4345,32112,341548,269694,18301,3314,358,3187],"class_list":["post-832817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-brachytherapy","tag-brain-and-spine","tag-brain-metastases","tag-caregivers","tag-clinical-trials","tag-family-friends","tag-houston","tag-melanoma","tag-melanoma-and-skin","tag-patient-caregiver-stories","tag-patients","tag-survivors","tag-texas","tag-tx"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116664761533870057","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=832817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/832818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=832817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=832817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=832817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}