Skin cancer treatment

There may be several treatment options available to the patient, depending on the particular stage of their melanoma.  There may be several treatment choices available to the patient.  Each case is different.  The doctor will want to review the pathology report with the patient as well as their medical history.  This helps the doctor determine the best course of action.  If the patient has just recently been diagnosed with melanoma, it is important to learn about the best treatment options. 

There are many treatment facilities that specialize in the management of melanoma.  The patient may travel to one of these treatment centers or they may wish to be treated locally by an oncologist affiliated with a major hospital or university.  Some people can be treated as part of a clinical trial that investigates the best treatment options available for the treatment of melanoma.

The patient may be treated with surgery, which is the mainstay of treatment for early melanoma cases.  It is used for the resection of a small melanoma area that has not metastasized.  There are several different kinds of surgery available to the patient.  The surgeon will outline the various ways melanoma can be treated with surgery. 

The patient may be treated using immunotherapy. Immunotherapy is a kind of systemic therapy used in the treatment of those cases that have a high risk for metastasis or local recurrence of the tumor.  There are many different kinds of immunotherapy the patient can get. The doctor will decide which type of immunotherapy to give.

The patient may be given targeted therapy.  This involves giving medications that target the melanoma cells, leaving normal cells alone.  Several targeted therapies are in use today and are being used by melanoma treatment centers throughout the country.  The patient may receive targeted therapy a part of a clinical trial as this is a relatively new form of treatment for melanoma. 

The patient may receive chemotherapy as part of their treatment for melanoma.  Unfortunately, chemotherapy is rarely successful in the management of melanoma.  The only drug approved by the FDA for the treatment of melanoma is dacarbazine.  It is reserved for metastatic melanoma cases.

All treatments for melanoma will have side effects.  Everyone reacts differently to melanoma treatment and the side effects may be different, depending on the person.  All side effects should be relayed to the patient’s doctor as soon as they are experienced.  Some side effects to expect include constipation, fever, itching, nausea, tiredness, colitis, thyroid problems, lymphedema, skin rashes, loss of skin pigmentation, and diarrhea.

The patient should begin preparing for melanoma treatment if they have signs or symptoms suggestive of the disease.  If the doctor suspects the problem is from melanoma, he or she will do a biopsy.  If the biopsy is positive for melanoma, the patient should be referred to a melanoma surgeon, who will take out the rest of the tumor. 

Because the appointments are short and because there is a lot to talk about, the patient needs to be prepared for the visit by writing down any questions they have.  They should bring along a friend or loved one who can help by asking questions the patient didn’t think about or can remember the answers even if the patient themselves forgot.

The patient should stop smoking at least two weeks before surgery to remove the melanoma.  Smoking can interfere with the healing process and should be stopped after surgery as well.  If the patient is taking any aspirin products, they need to stop taking them at least two weeks before surgery.  This is also true of anticoagulants and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.  These can cause bleeding complications with the surgery. 

If the patient has sutures after surgery, they need to ask their doctor when or if they should be removed and when they can go back to regular daily activities. If the patient has a skin graft, they need to avoid doing any type of activity that stretches the graft for at least three weeks after surgery.  The doctor will talk to the patient about their medications and when they should restart them after surgery.  The patient may be given additional medications that they didn’t take before surgery.  This could be pain medications or medications to further treat the disease. 

There will be a dressing over the patient’s wound.  It helps the wound heal and keeps it protected from the elements. The patient needs to wash the area every day with warm water and soap.  After washing the wound, they need to pat it dry.  The patient shouldn’t use alcohol or hydrogen peroxide on the wound as this can impair the healing process.  The patient may take a shower after surgery but should wait a day or two before doing this.  If there is an area of grafted skin, it shouldn’t be touched for three to four weeks. 

Melanoma treatment is done whenever the patient has a documented biopsy that indicates they are suffering from melanoma.  The treatments done after the diagnosis include surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy for melanoma.

In many cases, the melanoma treatment will destroy the cancer.  Getting past treatment can be both exciting and stressful.  The patient may feel relief that the treatment is over with but may continue to worry about its recurrence.  Recurrence is when the cancer grows back after being treated. Unfortunately, recurrence is common with melanoma, which means the patient may have to be treated again. 

Other people may never have resolution of their tumor and will go on to have targeted therapy, chemotherapy, and/or immunotherapy.  If these don’t work to get rid of the melanoma, the patient may die from metastatic disease.  Dealing with metastatic disease can be extremely stressful and difficult to deal with. 

The doctor may help the patient with the development of a survivorship care plan.  This plan may include a schedule or follow up examinations and testing, a schedule for tests that might need to take place in the future, and diet and exercise recommendations.