What should you know about melanoma treatment by stage?

For a melanoma confined to the skin, the central treatment is usually removal with a margin of surrounding tissue. Pathology then shows whether further assessment is needed. A sentinel lymph node biopsy may be offered for selected tumours to look for microscopic involvement in the first draining node.

When nearby lymph nodes or skin are involved, the plan may include surgery and medicine given before or after an operation. When melanoma has spread to distant organs, treatment often focuses on systemic medicines such as immunotherapy, with surgery or radiotherapy considered for particular sites and symptoms. Brain metastases require specialist planning because location, symptoms and other disease sites affect the approach.

Ask which stage has been assigned and whether it is based on a biopsy, surgery, lymph-node findings or scans. Request a clear treatment sequence: what happens first, how response will be checked, and what side effects should prompt a call. Bring details of autoimmune disease, transplant history, medicines and pregnancy plans because they can affect systemic treatment choices. Arrange follow-up even when the visible lesion has been removed.

Contact the treatment team promptly for fever, wound redness, increasing swelling, uncontrolled pain, new rash, diarrhoea, breathing difficulty or marked fatigue during treatment. Seek emergency care for sudden weakness, confusion, a seizure, severe breathlessness or chest pain. Do not wait for the next appointment when a new symptom is severe or rapidly worsening.

What findings place my melanoma in this stage? Is surgery enough, or is additional treatment advised? Would a sentinel lymph node biopsy or scan change the plan? How will you monitor treatment response and recurrence?