Melanoma is a type of skin cancer which attacks the melanin-producing cells in the skin. The symptom might appear as a new mole or a change in the color and shape of an existing mole. As this type of cancer can spread fast, an early diagnosis can make the treatment plan easy.
Diagnosis of melanoma
Diagnosis is a step-by-step process, which includes the following.
Skin examination: Melanoma is a relatively rare condition and as such, it is important to monitor the moles on the skin. Digital photographs should be taken of the areas with suspected tumors and then sent to a specialist for assessment.
Consulting a specialist: Ideally, a specialist should be consulted two weeks after seeing a general physician. Here is what the dermatologist (skin specialist) will do.
- Examine the skin and the mole.
- A biopsy will be carried out under local anesthetic.
- The specialist may remove the mole and send it to a lab to check whether it is cancerous.
- If it is confirmed to be cancerous, then another operation will be needed to surgically remove a wider area of the skin. This will be done to make sure that no cancerous cells are left behind.
More tests: If there are concerns about whether cancer has spread further into the bloodstream or other organs, then further tests like CT scans, MRIs, and blood tests will have to be done.
Treatment for melanoma
Melanoma has five stages where cancer progressively worsens from one stage to the other. But it is largely treatable, and here’s how the process is carried out.
- Stage O: In this stage, the melanoma hasn’t progressed beyond the epidermis. To treat it, a small part of the skin is removed through surgery and sent to a lab to check if cancer cells are present. If they are, then a repeat procedure may be carried out.
- Stage 1: It is treated via surgery where a large portion of the normal skin is removed. The portion of the skin area removed depends upon the location and thickness of melanoma. A sentinel lymph biopsy may also be recommended by the doctor if there is a possibility that it may have spread to other lymph nodes.
- Stage 2: Here, there’s a possibility that the melanoma may have spread to the lymph nodes and as such the nodes will have to be surgically removed. But this should be thoroughly discussed with the doctor.
- Stage 3: This stage signifies that cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. The treatment is surgery where a large area of skin containing the primary tumor will have to be removed along with the lymph nodes. Immunotherapy or radiation therapy may be given after the surgery to lower the chances of the disease coming back.
- Stage 4: When melanoma progresses to this stage, then it becomes difficult to cure since cancer has spread to distant lymph nodes by this stage. However, enlarged lymph nodes and skin tumors can be removed through surgery or treated with radiation therapy.
- Metastases: If cancer spreads to the internal organs then they will be removed after determining where they are and how many there are, or they may be treated with targeted therapy, immunotherapy, chemotherapy or radiation.
Here are the preventive measures which can be used to help reduce the chances of melanoma.
- Applying a sunscreen before going out.
- Not using tanning beds since they use UV rays.
- It is also important to keep checking your body for signs of unusual moles and getting regular checkups from a dermatologist.
