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Melanoma: TreatmentsPrevention & detection | Diagnostics & staging | Treatments | For physicians | Melanoma home Once staging is determined, an appropriate treatment plan can be developed. All treatment options should be discussed with your physician. For some, a combination of treatments may be the best option. SurgeryRemoval, or excision, of the melanoma is the first thing done to begin treating the cancer. Most often this can be done in a physician's office with local anesthesia with little scarring. If the melanoma is larger and requires more extensive surgery, a better cosmetic appearance can be obtained with flaps made from skin that is near the tumor, or with grafts of skin taken from another part of the body. For grafting, the skin is removed from areas that are normally or easily covered with clothing. Today surgeons are removing less of the healthy skin around the tumor. Based on new guidelines from the National Institutes of Health, the margins, which are the borders of the entire area to be removed, are much narrower. Radiation therapyRadiation therapy uses highly advanced technology and innovative
treatment techniques to destroy cancer cells or to prevent diseased cells
from growing. External Beam RadiationAllows high doses of radiation to be directed specifically to the tumor itself, sparing healthy tissue in areas around it. Using three-dimensional treatment planning, the radiation oncologist can avoid critical structure such as organs while delivering the high dose of radiation to the cancer cells. This is usually used to treat melanoma that has spread to other organs. Most patients experience fatigue as a side effect of this treatment. Aurora St. Luke's has three different linear accelerators that allow the radiation oncologists to choose the optimal type of radiation for each patient. ChemotherapyFor Stage III or IV melanoma, additional or adjuvant therapies may be used to treat the cancer. Chemotherapy uses a combination of cancer drugs. There are a few drugs available today to treat melanoma. Currently, Dacarbazine (DTIC), given by injection, is the only chemotherapy approved by the FDA. DTIC may be combined with carmustin (BCNU) and tamoxifen, or with cisplatin and vinblastine. Another drug, temozolomide, can be given orally. Chemotherapy has had limited success for melanoma patients but more research continues looking a new drugs and new treatment options. ImmunotherapyWith cancer, cells of the immune system are inactive (asleep), allowing the tumor to grow. Immunotherapy activates these cells to destroy cancer. One type uses cells of the immune system, which are taken out of the patient's blood and manipulated in the laboratory. Once the cells have obtained cancer-killing ability, they are given back to the patient to destroy their cancer. Immunotherapy has been effective against two types of cancer that were previously unresponsive to other treatments - melanoma (skin cancer) and renal cell (kidney) cancer. The Immunotherapy Program at St. Luke's was founded in 1987 and has treated over 500 patients in that time. It is one of only a few centers in the country to offer immunotherapy, and the only center in the state of Wisconsin. Lead by an expert team of physicians and researchers, the Immunotherapy Program is on the cutting edge of research and treatment for melanoma. Clinical trialsPatients with Stage III or IV melanoma may want to consider clinical trials as an option for treatment. They can give you access to new treatments that are not otherwise available. Because they are in clinical trial stage, there are risks. Aurora Health Care gives patients access to on-going, national clinic trials, including those sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. Learn more about melanoma or request a consultation
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