The Doc probably meant the general health was good aside from the Melanoma which will help fight the disease. Yes, median survival for stage IV (ex. multiple distant metastis in the lung) may be around 12 months. The is no specific cure but cure does occur. The faster the tumors grow the shorter the survival rate. Melanoma is a strange disease and one of the few that has rare (very rare) occurance of spontaneous remission. It is totally unpredictable. To that point, stage I typically has a very good prognosis but 2yrs later a tumor in the lungs, liver or brain can pop up even when the original site was caught early. There are different treatments that may help like leukine, Interleukin, T-cell, etc. but the trick is for the doctors to find one that works for you. The best progress for new meds seems to be centered around assisting the immune system. This again plays to the doctors reassurance that he is in good health and may able to fight this disease. What I have found is that there isn't a doctor anywhere that can tell you with any certainty what Melanoma will do or where it will appear next because they simply do not know. My wife is dealing with Stage IV of the lung after 12 months of Interferon. She just had a middle lobectomy and is doing well after surgery about to start Leukine therapy. She is in great health but the doctors just don't know what will happen next. It may not come back (maybe 10% chance of that) and it could pop up anywhere in the body or everywhere. They just don't know. We just remain vigilant. God bless and good luck.