How to treat malignant Melanoma?

The standard of therapy for Stage 0 melanoma (in situ) is surgery.  A doctor will perform a  wide excision of the site.  The aim of surgery is to eliminate any cancer remaining after the biopsy.  Below you can read more about the surgery performed to treat melanoma.

Surgery

A wide excision is performed after a biopsy confirms a melanoma diagnosis.  This procedure is performed under local anesthesia at a physician’s office.

During the surgery, a physician removes the remaining portion of the tumor such as the biopsy site, the surgical margin (a neighboring area of normal-appearing skin), and the underlying subcutaneous tissue, to ensure the entire tumor was removed.  The width of the margin taken depends upon the depth of the primary tumor.

The operation typically causes a scar of at least 4-5 cm (roughly 2 inches) in length, but it might be longer depending on the location on the skin and the orientation and size of the biopsy website.  Skin grafting may at times be asked to cover the wound, particularly if it’s on the face, the fingers, or feet.

It’s important to talk to your physician about the surgery and ask all the questions you may have pre-surgery.  It is advised to learn as much about your cancer as possible.  Post surgery, follow-up maintenance is very important after going through surgery.