Your Treatment Team
Your treatment team will include a dermatologist (a skin specialist), a surgeon, an oncologist (a cancer specialist), and possibly other professionals such as a pathologist, radiation oncologist, plastic surgeon, social worker, or nurse counselor.
A dermatologist is the first type of doctor you'll see if your primary care doctor thinks a mole on your skin looks suspicious. The dermatologist will usually do the initial excisional biopsy and send the sample out to a lab, where a pathologist will look at the sample under a microscope.
The pathologist sends back a report to the dermatologist. If the mole turns out to be melanoma, the dermatologist will refer you to a surgeon and an oncologist for further treatment.
The surgeon removes the entire tumor (if it has not been removed already during diagnosis) and performs a sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy to see if there are cancer cells in nearby lymph nodes. If the cancer has spread, the surgeon will remove the affected lymph nodes. If a large area of skin is affected, a skin graft or plastic surgery may be needed. Depending on the extent of your melanoma, you may need the services of a plastic surgeon.
Treatment after surgery will be decided by the oncologist (a cancer specialist).
If radiation treatment is needed, it will be given by a radiation oncologist, a cancer doctor who specializes in treating cancerous tumors using high energy x-rays.
If the oncologist determines that your melanoma has a high risk of coming back, he or she may begin immunotherapy.
The oncologist may also recommend chemotherapy, which may be given in the hospital, the doctor's office, or at home—depending on what medicines are used.
You will have regular follow-up visits with the oncologist and the dermatologist.
Living with melanoma can be a challenge so you may also want to arrange for counseling from a professional (such as a psychologist or social worker). Cancer support groups are also available to help you and your family members.
The members of your health care team will help you manage your treatment every step of the way.
- Chemotherapy
- The treatment of cancer (or other disease) with chemicals that are toxic to the cancer cells.
- Dermatologist
- A doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of skin problems.
- Excisional Biopsy
- A surgical procedure in which a tumor is removed and examined under a microscope to check for cancer cells.
- Immunotherapy
- A form of therapy that stimulates the immune system to kill or control cancer cells. Also called biochemical therapy or biotherapy.
- Lymph Nodes
- Glands that produce lymph and that filter out harmful agents (such as bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells).
- Melanoma
- A highly malignant type of skin cancer that arises in melanocytes, the cells that produce pigment. Melanoma usually begins in a mole.
- Pathologist
- A doctor who identifies diseases by studying cells and tissues under a microscope.
- Plastic Surgeon
- A surgeon who specializes in reducing scarring or disfigurement that may occur as a result of accidents, birth defects, or treatment for diseases, such as melanoma.
- Radiation Oncologist
- A physician who uses radiation as a treatment for cancer.
- Skin Graft
- A surgical procedure in which a piece of skin is transplanted from one area to another.
- SLN Biopsy
- A surgical procedure in which lymph nodes that drain a tumor are identified and examined under a microscope to check for cancer cells.
- Tumor
- An abnormal mass of tissue that results from excessive cell division. Tumors perform no useful body function. They may either be benign (not cancerous) or malignant (cancerous).
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