Read up on Skin cancer (melanoma) treatment options at Consumer Reports Health.

Skin cancer (melanoma)

Key points about treatments

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that usually starts as a dark spot or mole on your skin. It is the most serious type of skin cancer and can spread to other parts of your body. If you find melanoma early, treatment works well and can lead to a cure.

Your doctor may call your skin cancer malignant melanoma, but it's often just called melanoma.

Key points about treating melanoma

If you have a melanoma, you'll need surgery to have it removed. Your surgeon will also take away normal-looking skin from around the melanoma.
If your melanoma is thin (2 millimeters thick or less), then surgery that removes a small amount of normal-looking skin from around the melanoma works just as well as surgery that removes a lot of skin.
If your doctor thinks your cancer has spread to your

lymph nodes
Lymph nodes (also called glands) are small, bean-shaped lumps that you cannot usually see or easily feel. They are located in various parts of the body, such as the neck, armpit and groin. Lymph nodes filter the lymph fluid and remove unusual things, such as bacteria and cancer cells.

lymph nodes, you may need to have some taken out when you have surgery.
If your melanoma is thick and your doctor thinks it might spread, you may need some other treatments after surgery.
You may be offered high doses of a drug called interferon alfa-2b after surgery. But this drug is not widely available and has many side effects.
You may also be offered injections of a vaccine after surgery to help kill cancer cells. Vaccines may not work as well as interferon alfa-2b. They are still experimental.
If your melanoma has spread to other parts of your body, it is unlikely that treatment will cure you. Your doctor may advise you to have more surgery to help you feel more comfortable. To find out about this, see Surgery for melanomas that have spread to other organs.

This information was last updated on Oct 13, 2009

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2010. All rights reserved.

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