Case Study Melanoma

Part I

1. Define in your own words each of the four terms displayed above in boldface.

Cancer- uncontrollable dividing of the nucleus in the cells

Biopsy- a test that examines the tissue to look for any sign of cancer

Tumor- a mass of cells

Malignant Melanoma- type of skin cancer

2. List and briefly describe the stages of cancer.

Stage I: cancer is small and is contained in a certain area

Stage II: cancer has not started spreading but the tumor may be growing

Stage III: cancer is larger and has started spreading into surrounding tissues and in lymph nodes.

Stage IV: cancer has spread to another organ

3. List the risk factors for melanoma.

Exposure to UV light, moles, family history of melanoma, personal history, immune suppression, age, gender, and xeroderma pigmentosum

4. List five questions that our patient should ask his doctor before deciding on a treatment option.

What are the risk factors with each treatment? Which do you recommend? What are the percentage rates for survival and elimination of the cancer for each treatment? What are the symptoms of each treatment and what should I expect? Are these cancer treatments proven or experimental?

5. List five questions that the doctor should ask the patient. These questions should be your own.

How long have you had the sore? Have you experienced any pain? What is your family history on cancer? Have you had any prior experience with malignant melanoma? How many hours do you spend in the sun everyday?

Part II

1. What are the possible treatments for cancer? How do those treatments kill cancer cells? Which work well for melanoma?

2. Given what you now know about melanoma, what do you think Bill should do?

There is surgery; this treatment surgically removes tumors or the cancer tissues. Chemotherapy is another treatment that uses drugs to kill the cancer cells. It can affect the whole body instead of a certain area, which is why...