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Melanoma Biopsy - When To Get A Biopsy. |
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Written by Adrian Fletcher
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Saturday, 19 April 2008 |
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Of the three types of skin cancer, melanoma is the most serious. It is more common for melanoma to spread to other parts of the body. When this occurs it gets hard to treat the body and rid it of the cancer. This is why prevention and early detection are key to surviving melanoma. A way to establish the full extent of a suspicious looking mole or mark on the skin is to have a melanoma biopsy. This is often done after a first consultation with a skin cancer professional and confirms the initial diagnosis. It can also provide information on the spread of the cancer and possible treatment.
by AdrianFletcher
Of the three types of skin cancer, melanoma is the most serious. It is more common for melanoma to spread to other parts of the body. When this occurs it gets hard to treat the body and rid it of the cancer. This is why prevention and early detection are key to surviving melanoma. A way to establish the full extent of a suspicious looking mole or mark on the skin is to have a melanoma biopsy. This is often done after a first consultation with a skin cancer professional and confirms the initial diagnosis. It can also provide information on the spread of the cancer and possible treatment.
The aim of the biopsy is to take a sample of the suspicious tissue for a more rigorous diagnosis. This can be done by completely removing all the suspicious tissue. This is called a excisional biopsy. The other method is to take a small sample of the suspicious tissue leaving the rest intact on the skin. This is known as incisional biopsy.
The preferred method is to excise all the suspicious tissue as it removes all the potentially cancerous cells. It will also take a bit of skin around the perimeter of the growth. Taking a sample or incisional biopsy is normally reserved for large growths or parts of the body, like the face, where a scar or wound could cause psychological distress.
The process of taking a sample or removing the growth is fairly straightforward. It can be performed in the doctors clinic or at a skin cancer center. The patient remains conscious throughout the procedure and a local anesthetic is applied to the part of the body where the growth is located.
The potentially cancerous cells that have been removed are sent to a pathologist. The pathologist will test the cells and determine whether they are cancerous. He/she will relay this information to your doctor, along with the extent or depth of the cancerous tissues. This will help the doctor to formulate possible treatments for the melanoma.
Melanoma biopsy is the best and only way to establish the true nature of an unusual mark on your skin. It is only performed when a skin cancer professional already suspects that the mark is cancerous. The information that is returned after the biopsy can inform the doctor about how to treat the mark so that the cancer can be eliminated and never return.
Once again, early detection is key to surviving melanoma. If a melanoma has not spread it is easy to treat by simply removing the cancerous cells.
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