Melanoma Case Study

Melanoma is one of the most fatal disease of skin cancer and an important public health concern. Given the substantial health burden associated with melanoma, it is important to do some study and make public aware of its diagnosis and treatment.

Diagnosis:
A spot on the skin need to be confirmed as melanoma if the Dermatologist insists for a biopsy after preliminary examination. A biopsy is the only way to make a fool proof diagnosis. In this procedure, the doctor tries to remove all or portion of the suspicious-looking growth depending on the size. A biopsy can normally be carried out in the doctor’s clinic administering local anesthesia. A pathologist then examines the tissue under a microscope to check for cancer cells.

Treatment:
The
Stage I: Melanoma is small in size, less than 1 mm thick. There is no ulceration and melanoma cells have not spread to nearby lymph nodes.
Stage II: The tumour is at least 1 mm thick. The tumour size is between 1 and 2 mm and there may be ulceration.
Stage III: The melanoma cells have spread to nearby tissues and may be to nearby lymph
Surgery is generally not effective in controlling melanoma that has spread to other parts of the body. In such cases other methods of treatment, such as chemotherapy, biological therapy, radiation therapy is used for treatment.

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy, the use of drugs to kill cancer cells, is sometimes used to treat melanoma. The drugs are usually injected or given orally periodically , a treatment period followed by a recovery period, then another treatment period, and so on.

Biological Therapy
Biological therapy is actually an immunotherapy. It uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer or to reduce side effects caused by some cancer treatments. In Biological therapy cytokines are used for treatment of melanoma, normally produced by the body in response to infections and other diseases. Using modern laboratory techniques, scientists can produce cytokines in large amounts.

Radiation Therapy
Radiotherapy uses high-energy rays to kill cancer cells. Rays are directed by a machine at affected part of the body. The patient usually has treatment at a hospital or clinic, five days a week for several