McCain's last melanoma, from his nasal sidewall, was removed in 2002. The melanoma has not recurred since then - a good sign, his doctors agreed. He has had other minor skin cancers periodically, the most recent of which was discovered in February.
"There is no way to have a crystal ball," said Dr. Suzanne M. Connolly, McCain's dermatologist, but she said the chance of recurring risk of melanoma "would be thought to be in the single-digit [percent] area."
Dr. Susan Kesmodel, a surgical oncologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center who has not treated the senator, said the five-year survival rate for an invasive melanoma lesion such as McCain's is 80 percent, while the 10-year survival rate is 65 percent.
While he is at risk for new lesions, doctors should be able to catch them early, because he is checked so regularly.
Melanoma is dangerous because of its propensity to spread to other parts of the body, Kesmodel said. "When it does, it gets harder to treat, and we don't have treatment modalities that are very effective," she said.
McCain had surgery but neither chemotherapy nor radiation, standard procedure for melanoma that has not spread, she said.
McCain's fair skin, light eyes and exposure to the sun in his youth and as a young adult are likely to blame for his skin cancer, Connolly said.
Many of the details of McCain's health are known. He has reduced range of motion in his shoulders and his right knee because of injuries he suffered as a Navy pilot during the Vietnam War.
When his plane was shot down in October of 1967, he broke both arms and a leg after ejecting. While he was a prisoner of war in Hanoi for 5 1/2 ears, he was beaten and received fractures of both shoulders.
They did not heal properly, Eckstein said, but he "does not complain of bone or joint pain and does not take pain medication."
Dr. Richard Boehler, chief medical officer at St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson and a former instructor at Harvard Medical School, said he was surprised that the senator isn't taking anything for pain from his war injuries. "I imagine I would be," said Boehler, who has not treated McCain.
Eckstein said McCain has no evidence of heart disease or other cardiovascular problems. His ability to complete a rim-to-rim crossing of the Grand Canyon in 2006 and his performance on a cardiac stress test indicate he is in excellent cardiovascular health. Like many Americans, though, he takes cholesterol-lowering medicine.
