What Happen After One Had A Minor Surgery To Cut Melanoma Out?
My mum had what she thought was a big mole bleading. when it was cut out it turned out to be a tumor – doctor did a good job cutting so everything around and underneath it was tumorfree. It was then tested in a lab and turned out to be a malignant melanoma.
I wonder what needs to happen next – what are the prosedings??
the doctors in Ukraine say there is nothing else to be done and my mum can go on with her life.
You might want to educate yourself (and your mom) on Melanoma. The links below include tools for determining the staging of Melanoma. In your description (margins are clear “so everything around and underneath it was tumorfree”) it sounds like she is stage I or II.
You might try to have her get the pathology report and have one of your doctors review it. You can also compare it at the sites before.
These sites also discuss the appropriate followup care. Take Care.
You are not giving enough information to know. What kind of melanoma was it? How big was it? How far did it invade? How thick was it? Was it ulcerated? The answers to these questions are what determine treatment and prognosis. Typically the initial biopsy is done with close margins of just a few millimeters. This is to prevent problems with sentinel lymph node mapping. Later a second biopsy is done to be sure the margins are clear.
You’ve just answered your own question – nothing else surgical or medical needs to be done, if that’s what her doctors say. Your mum needs to stay out of the sun as much as possible in the future, avoid sunbeds at all costs and use a very high factor sunscreen. If she notices any swelling in her groins or armpits, or any other unusual lesions on her body she needs to go to the doctor as soon as possible.
melanoma can spread. If it is self contained, she may will probably be fine. But a PET scan to check for any spread might be good.
just wait until the docs contact her