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Introduction
Melanoma* is the most serious type of cancer of
the skin. Each year in the United
States, more than 53,600 people learn they have melanoma.
In some parts of the world, especially
among Western countries, melanoma is becoming more common every year. In the United States, for example, the
percentage of people who develop melanoma has more than doubled in the past 30
years.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has written this booklet (NIH Publication No. 02-1563) to help people
with melanoma and their families and friends better understand this disease.
We hope others will read it as well to learn more about melanoma. This booklet
discusses risks and prevention, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and followup
care. It also has information about resources and sources of support to help
patients cope with melanoma.
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This booklet is about melanoma of the
skin. Melanomas arising in areas
other than the skin (such as intraocular melanoma, which is melanoma
arising in the eye) are not discussed here. Also, two more common and less serious types of skin cancer
(squamous cell and basal cell cancer) are discussed in another NCI booklet,
What You Need To Know About™ Skin Cancer.
For other sources of information on intraocular melanoma and
skin cancer, see the “National Cancer Institute Information Resources.”
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Research continues to teach us more about
melanoma. Scientists are learning more
about its causes. They are exploring
new ways to prevent, find, and treat this disease. Because of research, people with melanoma can look forward to a
better quality of life and less chance of dying from this disease.
Information specialists at the NCI's
Cancer Information Service
at 1-800-4-CANCER can answer questions about
melanoma and can send NCI materials. They can also send up-to-date
treatment information from NCI’s
PDQ®
database. In addition, many NCI publications and fact sheets are
on the Internet at http://www.cancer.gov/publications. People in the United States and its
territories may use this Web site to order publications. This Web site also explains how people
outside the United States can mail or fax their requests for NCI publications.
*Words that may be new to readers appear in italics. The
Dictionary section explains these
terms. Some words in the Dictionary have a
"sounds-like" spelling to show how to pronounce them.
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