Melanoma cancer is a malignant cancer of the cells that are responsible for the production of melanin. Melanin is a pigment that gives a color to our skin. This type of cancer is mostly found on the skin, however it can also be found near the eye, bowel, and the areas which contain melanocytes. Melanocytes are the cells that produce melanin. One of the main causes of melanoma cancer is continuous exposure to ultraviolet or sun rays. Other causes include family history, large moles, etc. A person suffering from this type of cancer normally complains of irregularly bordered moles, moles that increase in size, an irregularly shaped spot that was seen some days back, etc. The patient is asked to do a skin biopsy to confirm the presence of melanomic cancer cells in the affected area. Options of treatment for melanoma cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and immunotherapy.

Surgery for Melanoma Cancer Treatment

Surgery is the most preferred option of treatment for melanoma cancer. It is performed in dofferent ways.

• Local Incision: In this method, the cancerous cells and some of the healthy tissues around it is removed. Sometimes, the lymph nodes are also removed in this surgery.
• Sentinel lymph node biopsy: In this method, a blue dye or radioactive substance is placed near the affected area and it is allowed to react with the first lymph node. This node is removed and a biopsy is done of the same. Depending on this report it is decided whether to remove the next lymph node or not. If any further cancerous cells are seen in the removed region then the next lymph node is removed and if no further cancerous cells are seen then it is not removed. This type of surgery is performed in the early stages, especially when it is found that the cancerous cell is about to spread near the lymph nodes and thus other parts of the body.
• Mohs Surgery: This type of surgery is done in the similar way to treatment for skin cancer. In this method, thin sections of the affected area are taken and observed under the microscope simultaneously. These sections are taken no trace of the cancerous cells are found in the last taken section. Mohs surgery is generally performed when melanoma cancer is detected in the early stages.

Chemotherapy for Melanoma Cancer Treatment

Chemotherapy is one of the most preferred methods of treatment for melanoma cancer, after surgery. Melanoma chemotherapy is administered in a different way called as hyperthermic isolated limb perfusion which sends the injected drugs directly into the affected area, without affecting the other healthy cells present inside the body. The blood flow from and towards the concerned limb is stopped when these anticancer drugs are being injected inside the patient’s body, thus the patient can receive a higher dose, if his body condition permits.

Radiation therapy for Melanoma Cancer Treatment

Radiation therapy is one of the least preferred methods to treat melanoma cancer, as it has a lot of side effects. This therapy involves the usage of high energy rays to destroy the cancerous cells present in the patient’s body. It can be given externally or internally.

Immunotherapy for Melanoma Cancer Treatment

This method makes the use of drugs that boost up the patient’s immune system to destroy cancer cells. It is generally given when all the other methods do not work for the patient, or when the doctor wishes to a combination of two therapies to the patient.

These were the different methods of treatment for cancer of this type. These methods cure the melanoma cancer effectively and allow the patient to enjoy a prolonged life after his / her melanoma cancer treatment is over.