 while it's one of the deadliest forms of cancer if left untreated. Tonight Clayton Castle talks to a survivor of stage 4 melanoma who offers a message of hope and faith to others battling the disease. Meet Raymond and Susan Kiefer. The married couple of 45 years have been through thick and thin together including the hardest battle of the past eight years. Raymond's battle with melanoma discovered by Susan in 2009. It had an irregular shape and it was real the coloring was different and so I asked him to have a check. Despite first noticing the mole in 2009 Raymond wasn't officially diagnosed with melanoma until 2012. His cancer had metastasized to the point where a trip to the Mayo Clinic delivered the news that he would only have weeks to live. First thing he thought of was his family. I mean I just immediately when I was told you've got a few months to live I thought gosh I got to get the household I got to get make sure our wills are in or everything is taken care of because if I go in a short period of time it's going to be I'm going to be out of here but it's going to be all the pressure is going to be on my wife and my kids at that time. That was four years ago thanks to evolving treatments Raymond's last two CT scans have shown no cancer in his body. Raymond is in remission. Now let's take a look at some of the warning signs of melanoma and the warning signs are the ABCD signs that that that's that's usually talked about. A stands for an asymmetrical mole. B stands for borders that are rough and not smooth. C stands for color. Melanoma has different shades of color not just one. D stands for diameter. If a mole is larger than the size of a pencil eraser it could be melanoma and E stands for the evolution or change of a mole. Now I talked to Dr. Philip here at Ascension Health St. Joseph's Medical Center in Brainard and he said that two of the biggest risk factors for melanoma are long exposures to the sun and the use of tanning beds. We talk about minimizing the use of tanning beds minimizing sun exposure or if you do use tanning beds using barrier methods using sunscreen. As for Raymond he's just happy to be here and enjoy life while continuing to love and thank his wife Susan for saving his life. My wife is she saved my life basically. She's the one who insisted I go to see a dermatologist. If it wasn't for that I wouldn't be here. Reporting in Niswa and Brainard Clayton Castle, Lakeland News. According to the American Cancer Society they estimate more than 87,000 new cases of melanoma will be diagnosed in 2017. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.