What is a Stage 1 melanoma mole?

Stage I Melanoma

This is a noninvasive stage, which is also called melanoma “in situ,” meaning “in its original place.” With stage I melanoma, the tumor's thickness is 1mm or less. This tumor may or may not have ulcerated, and it isn't yet believed to have spread beyond the original site.

How serious is Stage 1 melanoma?

Prognosis for Stage 1 Melanoma: With appropriate treatment, Stage I melanoma is highly curable. There is low risk for recurrence or metastasis. The 5-year survival rate as of 2018 for local melanoma, including Stage I, is 98.4%. Learn more about melanoma survival rates.

How do you know if you have stage 1 melanoma?

The first sign of melanoma is often a mole that changes size, shape or color. This melanoma shows color variations and an irregular border, both of which are melanoma warning signs.

Can Stage 1 melanoma be treated?

Stage I melanoma is typically treated by wide excision (surgery to remove the melanoma as well as a margin of normal skin around it). The width of the margin depends on the thickness and location of the melanoma. Most often, no other treatment is needed.

How fast does Stage 1 melanoma spread?

Melanoma can grow very quickly. It can become life-threatening in as little as 6 weeks and, if untreated, it can spread to other parts of the body. Melanoma can appear on skin not normally exposed to the sun.

What are the stages of melanoma?

How do you stop melanoma from spreading?

The most common treatment for most superficial spreading melanoma is to have it removed surgically. This may or may not include having surgery to remove affected lymph nodes as well. Even for melanoma that has spread to distant parts of the body, surgery may be able to remove cancer from those sites.

How treatable is melanoma if caught early?

Melanoma is usually curable when detected and treated early. Once it has spread deeper into the skin or other parts of the body, it becomes more difficult to treat and can be deadly. The estimated five-year survival rate for U.S. patients whose melanoma is detected early is about 99 percent.

How do they remove Stage 1 melanoma?

Treating stage 1 melanoma involves surgery to remove the melanoma and a small area of skin around it. This is known as surgical excision. Surgical excision is usually done using local anaesthetic, which means you'll be awake, but the area around the melanoma will be numbed, so you will not feel pain.

What happens after melanoma is removed?

After you finish treatment, your dermatologist (or oncologist) will still want to see you regularly. Melanoma can return or spread after treatment. If this happens, it's most likely to occur within the first 5 years. During the first 5 years, you'll need thorough check-ups.

How quickly should melanoma be removed?

Hypothesis-based, informal guidelines recommend treatment within 4–6 weeks. In this study, median surgical intervals varied significantly between clinics and departments, but nearly all were within a 6-week frame. Key words: melanoma, surgical interval, treatment time, melanoma survival, time factors.

How do you confirm melanoma?

How melanoma is diagnosed. For melanoma, a biopsy of the suspicious skin area, called a lesion, is the only sure way for the doctor to know if it is cancer. In a biopsy, the doctor takes a small sample of tissue for testing in a laboratory.

What does early melanoma look like?

Border that is irregular: The edges are often ragged, notched, or blurred in outline. The pigment may spread into the surrounding skin. Color that is uneven: Shades of black, brown, and tan may be present. Areas of white, gray, red, pink, or blue may also be seen.

When is melanoma too late?

What are the signs of late-stage skin cancer? Melanoma is considered stage 4 when it has metastasized to lymph nodes in a part of the body far from the original tumor or if it has metastasized to internal organs like the lungs, liver, brain, bone or gastrointestinal tract.

What age should you worry about melanoma?

The risk of melanoma increases as people age. The average age of people when it is diagnosed is 65. But melanoma is not uncommon even among those younger than 30. In fact, it's one of the most common cancers in young adults (especially young women).

Can you have stage 1 melanoma for years?

Stage 1 is considered a 'thin melanoma'. If your melanoma is caught before it is too thick the prognosis is very good. Nearly 19 in 20 people who have a stage 1 melanoma are alive at least five years after being diagnosed. Stage 1 is the least serious type of melanoma.

Can Stage 1 melanoma come back?

Melanoma is most likely to return within the first 5 years of treatment. If you remain melanoma free for 10 years, it's less likely that the melanoma will return. But it's not impossible. Studies show that melanoma can return 10, 15, and even 25 years after the first treatment.

What happens if mole biopsy is positive?

Generally, after a patient receives positive melanoma results, his or her doctors will need to proceed with staging the malignancy— which essentially means determining the extent of the cancer—and developing a treatment plan based on how far the cancer has progressed.

Can melanoma be removed completely?

Treatment for early-stage melanomas usually includes surgery to remove the melanoma. A very thin melanoma may be removed entirely during the biopsy and require no further treatment. Otherwise, your surgeon will remove the cancer as well as a border of normal skin and a layer of tissue beneath the skin.

Can melanoma be cured completely?

What is the outlook for people with melanoma? Most skin cancers can be cured if they're treated before they have a chance to spread. However, more advanced cases of melanoma can be fatal. The earlier skin cancer is found and removed, the better your chances for a full recovery.

Is melanoma removal painful?

The area around the wide local excision may feel tight and tender for a few days. Your doctor will prescribe painkillers if necessary. If you have a skin graft, the area that had skin removed may look red and raw immediately after the operation. Over a few weeks, this area will heal and the redness will fade.

How long is recovery after melanoma removal?

Most wounds take 1 to 3 weeks to heal. If a large area of skin was removed, you may have a skin graft. In that case, healing may take longer. Some soreness around the site of the wound is normal.

What is best treatment for melanoma?

Surgery to remove the tumor is the primary treatment of all stages of melanoma. A wide local excision is used to remove the melanoma and some of the normal tissue around it. Skin grafting (taking skin from another part of the body to replace the skin that is removed) may be done to cover the wound caused by surgery.

What ages usually get melanoma?

[1-4] In contrast to most cancer types, melanoma skin cancer also occurs relatively frequently at younger ages. Age-specific incidence rates increase steadily from around age 20-24 and more steeply in males from around age 55-59. The highest rates are in in the 85 to 89 age group for females and males.

What organs does melanoma spread to first?

Doctors have known for decades that melanoma and many other cancer types tend to spread first into nearby lymph nodes before entering the blood and traveling to distant parts of the body.

Can melanoma spread after biopsy?

Meffert correctly notes that biopsy does not promote the spread of a lesion. Family physicians were also warned not to touch lesions so that sentinel lymph node testing could be accomplished. We now know that sentinel lymph node procedures can be accurately performed as a secondary procedure.