Understanding Different Stages and Various Treatments of Malignant Melanoma Skin Cancer
Malignant melanoma is a very serious skin cancer and is of four main types namely 1)Superficial spreading melanoma 2) nodular melanoma 3) acral lentiginous melanoma and 4) lentigo maligna melanoma.
Early detection and treatment cures the disease and ninety percent of cancers of the skin and their types can be cured completely.In considering the treatment for malignant melanoma the doctor looks into the age, personal health and situation of the patient together with the location of the tumor, its thickness, and its stage before planning his procedure.
The different stages of malignant melanoma are as follows:
In stage one, the lesions or tumors are less than two millimeters thick on the outer layer of the skin or the epidermis.In stage two, the melanoma the cancer has spread to the inner layer of the skin or dermis and entered some fat cells but has not extended to the tissue cells below.In stage three, melanoma which is very serious, cancer cells have traveled to the lymph nodes from where they can be transported to other parts of the body.
In stage four, melanoma which very has now spread to other organs of the body.Surgery is the standard treatment for malignant melanoma when the cancer is located in one spot, and has not gone beyond the immediate area. If the cancer has spread radiation and chemotherapy are suggested.Radiation particularly targets a localized site to terminate any cancerous cells nearby after the surgery. Chemotherapy is a systematic treatment for serious advanced melanoma when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Chemotherapy drugs pars through the body and attack the rapidly changing radical cells.
Another treatment called immunotherapy or biological therapy is meant to build the immune system. It is recommended to patients with a higher risk of recurrence of cancer, and if the lymph nodes are compromised. The typical agent used in this therapy is called interferon alpha.Awareness on these types of skin caners is as great as the incidence of the dreadful disease. Preventive measures are being taken by more and more people to avoid the disease. It is gratifying to note these cancers are curable through early detection, treatment and immediate action at the beginning.
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