What should you know about foot melanoma treatment?

Melanoma on the sole, heel, or around a toenail can be easy to overlook because it may resemble a bruise, wart, or changing nail mark. A clinician examines the area and removes a sample or the entire suspicious lesion for laboratory assessment. The result helps show how deeply the melanoma has grown and whether nearby lymph nodes need assessment.

Treatment may involve wider removal of the melanoma and a margin of surrounding skin. A sentinel lymph node biopsy can help assess whether cells have reached the first draining lymph node. Advanced disease may need medicines that help the immune system recognise cancer cells, together with care from a multidisciplinary oncology team.

Arrange prompt review for a new or changing dark mark on the foot, especially one with uneven colour, an irregular edge, growth, bleeding, or persistent soreness. Do not cut, freeze, or repeatedly file a suspicious spot yourself, because this can delay diagnosis and make the area harder to assess.

Take photographs for your own comparison, keep appointments for pathology and staging, and ask how the wound will be protected while walking. After treatment, examine the treated area and the rest of your skin as advised. Follow-up after cancer treatment can include skin checks, lymph-node review, and discussion of new symptoms.

Seek urgent medical advice if the lesion is bleeding heavily, rapidly enlarging, ulcerated, or associated with spreading redness, severe pain, or fever. Contact your treatment team promptly for new lumps near the groin, persistent swelling, unexplained weight change, breathlessness, severe headache, weakness, or changes in vision; these symptoms need assessment and do not by themselves establish spread.

Ask what the biopsy shows, how deep the melanoma is, whether margins are clear, whether lymph-node assessment is appropriate, and which specialist will coordinate care. You can also ask about wound care, footwear, activity limits, warning signs, and the timing of surveillance visits.