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Diagnosing melanoma
Melanoma is usually found when you check your own skin for new or changing moles, freckles or spots. Use the ABCDEs of melanoma as a guideline for the changes to look for.
If you're at a higher risk of melanoma, you could consider getting a photographic skin check. You could also try a phone app to help you monitor your spots and any changes.
If you find any concerning spots or lumps (lesions), you'll need a GP or dermatologist (skin doctor) to take a look at them. They may use a magnifying instrument called a dermatoscope.
If the doctor is concerned about the lesion, they will remove it. This is called excision. The doctor will then send it to be looked at under a microscope to find out what type it is, how deep in the skin it has gone, and if it's all been removed.
If your doctor is worried that it might have spread elsewhere, you may need further tests, called staging.
Staging melanoma
The tests used to stage melanoma include blood tests, looking at the nearby lymph nodes (this is called sentinel node biopsy), and scans such as ultrasound and CT scans. You can read more about the tests that can be used to help with staging on the Melanoma Foundation of New Zealand website.
After looking at the melanoma and doing extra tests if needed, doctors put a melanoma into one of five stages:
- Stage 0 – abnormal cells were only found in the epidermis (outer layer of your skin). This is called melanoma in situ.
- Stage 1 – the melanoma is not more than 2 mm thick.
- Stage 2 – the melanoma is more than 2 mm thick, with no spread to your lymph vessels or lymph nodes.
- Stage 3 – the melanoma has spread to your lymph vessels or lymph nodes. It can be any thickness.
- Stage 4 – the melanoma has spread to other parts of your body.
The treatment you need will depend on the stage.
On the next page: Treating melanoma
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed May 2021.
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Review key: HIMEL-15455
