Nodular melanoma is the second most common type of melanoma--the deadliest of all skin cancers. Within the melanoma category itself, nodular melanoma can be particularly devastating. Because it progresses so swiftly, nodular melanoma calls for aggressive and vigilant monitoring and treatment.
Characteristics
One of the problems with treating this type of melanoma is it presents itself as a bluish-blackish blood blister. If you've got this type of skin ailment, you might be lulled into the sense that it's harmless. For this reason, those with nodular melanoma often wait nine months, on average, before they visit a doctor. By that time the melanoma has more than likely spread. It's tough because this type of melanoma progresses not by years but by weeks.
Detection
Another problem with nodular melanoma that leads to delayed treatment is that it doesn't adhere to the standard characteristics that have been assigned to cancerous lesions of the skin. These "typical" signs include irregularity in the lesion's borders or changes in color. Typically, this type of skin cancer shows up more as a bump--something that could, at least initially, be mistaken for a harmless growth caused by something else entirely.
Chemotherapy
In some cases there has been a positive response to this form of treatment for those in stages three and four. A concern with chemo is that the disease will come back, so it's important to properly detect that the chemo did indeed kill the cancer cells.
Biologic
This therapy changes how the body reacts to the tumor and better positions the body's immune system to fend off the cancer cells. It also makes the cancer weaker and more susceptible to being eliminated by the body.
Perfusion
This form of therapy is administered to those who have a tumor on one of their limbs. Though typically nodular melanoma appears on the trunk, neck and head, for those who have cancer in a specific region, such as a leg or arm, this has proven to make a positive difference in at least 78 percent of cases. This technique isolates the circulation of a chemotherapeutic agent to the affected region, in turn minimizing its affect on other parts of the body.
Radiation
Though not a pre-eminent form of treatment, radiation is used in conjunction with other treatments, such as a chemotherapeutic drug regimen.
Surgery
The sad truth is it's important to realistically assess a person's health and outcomes before deciding to go forward with either palliative or curative approaches to surgery, since only the strongest may survive an operation. The process of removing a growth is straightforward in and of itself, but if the tumor is large or wide, as many nodular tumors are, a larger area of skin must be removed and grafted and the lymph glands may also have to be tested and removed.
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