Staging
If the
diagnosis is melanoma, the doctor needs to learn the extent, or stage, of the
disease before planning treatment. Staging is a careful attempt to learn how
thick the tumor is, how deeply the melanoma has invaded the skin, and whether
melanoma cells have spread to nearby lymph nodes or other parts of the
body. The doctor may remove nearby
lymph nodes to check for cancer cells.
(Such surgery may be
considered part of the treatment because removing cancerous lymph nodes may
help control the disease.) The doctor
also does a careful physical exam and, if the tumor is thick, may order chest x-rays, blood tests, and scans of the liver,
bones, and brain.
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