Melanoma also known as skin cancer is a viral infection that needs to start being treated early. Thanks to the advancement in medicine, various procedures exist for treating the disease. Technology has in the last few decades advanced to a great extent. This has paved the way for more advanced ways in which such contagious issues as melanoma can be managed depending on its stage. If the patients start being treated early, he or is in a position to have a long life with the condition being well managed. The best melanoma treatments have been analyzed in this article

Surgery

This involves a surgical oncologist performing an operation that involves the removal of an existing tumour or even the healthy tissues that may be surrounding the tumour. Most of the people that are suffering from local and regional melanoma undergo surgery as one of the best treatment options. Where surgery does not seem to be viable, the disease is said to “unresectable”. This allows the doctor to explore other available options depending on the stage of the disease as well as the risk of occurrence of the disease to the individual. Local and regional melanoma can be treated through wide excision which involves the removal of the affected tissue through surgery. Sentinel lymph node biopsy and lymphatic mapping is also another surgical procedure which involves the injection of a radioactive tracer and a dye to the tumour area. The doctor then removes the lymph nodes that take the injected radioactive tracer or the dye. Lymph nodes dissection is also another surgical procedure that involves the removal of the remaining lymph nodes in an area where surgery had been performed before. This is especially where the cancer is found in sentinel lymph nodes.

Radiation Therapy

This is also another viable melanoma treatment for the affected patients. It involves the use of x-rays with high energy as well as other particles to kill the affected cells. The most popular radiation therapy is the external beam radiation therapy where a machine on the outside is used to direct x-ray beams to the affected areas in a different direction. As a measure to minimize the side effects of the radiations, the x-ray beams are blocked using various special techniques. Depending on the nature of melanoma, a specific radiation therapy regime is directed by the oncologist. However, this procedure has various side effects like skin irritation and fatigue. However, the side effects tend to decrease after the adjuvant therapy. Some other side effects may include lymphedema or even irritation of the mouth which of course is temporary. This, however, might cause problems in swallowing. Antibiotics, as well as topical corticosteroids, may be used the side effects of the procedure on the skin.

Adjuvant Immunotherapy

This procedure involves strengthening and boosting the defence mechanisms of the body to allow it to fight the disease. This is in return referred to as biologic therapy. This procedure involves using body manufactured materials or even those that are synthesized in the laboratory. However, most of the materials used lead to various side effects. Therefore, it is necessary for the patient suffering from melanoma to consult the doctor before being treated using this method in order to understand the side effects. There exist four major types of immunotherapies for stages 2 and 3 of melanoma that has already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States. These include nivolumab (Opdivo), ipilimumab (Yervoy), pegylated interferon alfa-2b (Sylatron) and the high-dose interferon alfa-2b (Intron A).

New Adjuvant Drug Treatment

There exists numerous clinical tests and trial therapies that as well as other immunotherapies that follow after surgeries. All the effort is employed to contain the contagious disease and curb the side effects of the previous procedure as well as the drugs being used. Some of these adjuvant drug treatments involve anti-PD1 inhibitors of the BRAF proteins that have mutated as well as antibodies. The combination of the MEK inhibitors and the BRAF inhibitors has already been approved by the FDA.

Conclusion

As it is known, melanoma is one of the most contagious diseases that if treated can lead to early deaths. People should, therefore, get tested to establish if any of the types of cancer exist in their bodies. If the individual is suffering from melanoma, check for one of the best options for treatment explained in this article. Note that there exist several other options that you can take as treatment measures depending on the level of melanoma. You can always talk with the doctor to understand the best option that you should take.