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.
There are two types of melanoma biopsy. These are known as excisional and incisional biopsies. In short, an excisional biopsy removes the mark or mole entirely. An incisional biopsy takes a sample of the mole.
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.
Both of these processes can be done at your doctors surgery or at the skin cancer center. It will normally take around thirty minutes depending on the size and position of the suspicious growth. A local anesthetic is applied to the part of the skin where the biopsy will be performed..
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.
Early and conclusive detection of melanoma growths are vital to treating the disease effectively. If found early, the tissues can be cut out. If it has spread then aggressive cancer treatments may be required.
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