MELANOMA SKIN CANCER

Symptoms

Moles may be an indication that melanoma hasn’t yet metastasized or spread to other parts of the body. These malignant melanoma moles may have the following characteristics:

• Asymmetry
• Jagged or uneven borders
• Color that is brown, tan, black, red, white or blue
• Larger size

Advanced melanoma may have the following symptoms:

• Hard lumps under the skin
• Swollen or painful lymph nodes
• Difficulty breathing or a cough that doesn’t go away
• Enlarged liver
• Loss of appetite
• Bone pain or unexplained fractures
• Weight loss
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Seizures
• Weakness or numbness in the arms or legs

Diagnosis

The doctor will first obtain a medical history then do a physical exam.

You will then be advised to undertake tests. These tests may include the following:

• Computerized tomography or CT scan, to detect tumors and tumor spread
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to detect cancer cells using radioactive dyes
• Positron emission tomography (PET) scan, to detect glucose uptake of cancer cells
• Blood testing such as lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)
• Biopsy of the tumor and the nearby lymph nodes

Medications/Treatment

Using the findings during diagnosis, doctors will then proceed to determine the stage of the cancer. Here are the stages:

• Stage 0: The tumor has only entered the epidermis, or outermost skin layer. The treatment for this stage is removal of the tumor with surgery.
• Stage 1A: The tumor is no more than 1 millimeter thick and hasn’t spread out to lymph nodes or other organs. The treatment for this stage is removal of the tumor with surgery, along with monitoring.
• Stage 1B: The tumor meets one of two criteria. First, it is less than 1 millimeter thick and has a broken skin appearance, or second, it is 1 to 2 millimeters thick without a cracked appearance. It hasn’t spread to other lymph nodes or organs. The treatment for this stage is removal of the tumor with surgery.
• Stage 2A: The tumor is 1 to 2 millimeters thick and has a cracked appearance or is 2 to 4 millimeters thick and cracked. The tumor hasn’t spread to lymph nodes or surrounding organs. Surgical removal of the tissue and surrounding organs as well as potential additional treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation, may be recommended.
• Stage 2B: The tumor is 2 to 4 millimeters thick and cracked or more than 4 millimeters thick and not cracked in appearance. The tumor hasn’t spread to other organs. The treatment for this stage is removal of the tumor and the surrounding tissues with surgery. Chemotherapy and radiation may be given.
• Stage 2C: The tumor is more than 4 millimeters thick and is cracked in appearance. The treatment for this stage is removal of the tumor and the surrounding tissues with surgery. Chemotherapy and radiation may be given.
• Stage 3A3B, 3C: The cancerous cells have spread to lymph nodes or to some tissue that is just outside the tumor. The treatment for this stage is removal of the tumor and the surrounding tissues with surgery. Immunotherapies may be given
• Stage 4: The cancerous cells have spread or metastasized far beyond the original tumor. They may be in the lymph nodes, other organs, or distant tissues. The treatment for this stage is removal of the tumor and the surrounding tissues and lymph nodes with surgery. Immunotherapies and targeted therapies may be given