Diagnosis of melanoma
Once you discover a suspicious-looking mole or growth on your skin, inform your doctor about it. If necessary, he will send you to a dermatologist, who will take a sample of the growth (excisional biopsy) and send it to the lab so as to see if it’s melanoma. In case of melanoma, the dermatologist will refer you to the surgeon to remove the tumor and do the SLN biopsy. If tests show that melanoma has spread, the surgeon might remove the nearby lymph nodes so as to stop cancer from further spreading. In case of melanoma spreading to the lymph nodes, you might as well have other tests run, ex. blood tests, chest x-rays, ultrasound, or MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) to see if the cancer has spread to other organs. After all necessary surgical procedures are completed, an oncologist might prescribe other treatments in the form of radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy.