Melanoma, a skin cancer

Complications due to melanoma or treatment of melanoma may include:

• Accumulation of fluid in the limbs (lymphoedema) due to removal of lymph nodes
• Depression and anxiety
• Metastasis- Spread to other organs of the body
• Recurrence of skin cancer
• Scarring after removal
• Side effects of chemotherapy

After diagnosis, the stage of the melanoma is identified. A system of classifying a cancer depending on its severity is called staging. In case of melanoma, the stage is determined by factors like extent of penetration, thickness, and the extent of spread.

The melanoma is staged from 0 to IV.

• Stage 0 and I are localized early melanomas
  •  Stage 0 melanoma also known as “in situ”, is non-invasive and does not penetrate beyond the outer layer or epidermis of the skin.
  •  Stage I melanoma invades below the epidermis to the dermis, i.e the next layer of the skin but are non-invasive and    pose no threat of spreading to nearby lymph nodes or other organs
• Stage II melanoma too is localized but are larger than stage 0 or 1 melanoma (>1mm) and/or may have signs like ulceration placing them at the risk of spreading.These are intermediate or “high-risk” melanomas.
• Stages III and IV melanomas metastasize to other parts of the body and may be further sub divided into sub stages.