Melanoma often appears as a mole and tends to be larger than a pencil eraser, uneven in color, asymmetrical, and ragged around the border.
Your doctor will begin with a physical examination, review of your medical history and review of your family history to diagnose melanoma. In most cases a biopsy is used to confirm melanoma. Your doctor will remove all or part of the suspicious growth for further examination by a pathologist.
Melanoma may remain only in the skin or it may spread through the blood or lymph system to other organs and bones. It is important to diagnose the tumor’s spread to the lymph glands early and the sentinel lymph node biopsy technique is a minimally invasive way to do so.
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