Suggest prognosis of merkel cell cancer with a small inoperable arm tumor
Patient: Hi, may I answer your health queries right now ?  Please type your query here...Hi My Name is Imelda Jane..... My Father has Merkle Cell Cancer.. He had a large tumor removed under his arm in his Lymph nodes... Its has returned small, painless and inoperable... What path does this henious afflication generally take? Is their a pattern to this rare disease... Doctor: Hi,Thanks for writing in.Merkel cell cancer is a rare and aggressive form of skin cancer. It is influenced by sun exposure and appears as a painless nodule in the skin. If there are lymph nodes involved then it is stage 3 cancer. Since the reports have come as inoperable, surgery might not be the best treatment of choice for him at present.Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are two important strategies that might have to be planned by his doctor and given in a regulated manner. Radiation will limit the aggressiveness of the cancer and reduce tumor size. The chemotherapy will destroy the cancer cells. Please do not worry.