deleted

[305985]

---

Members don't see this ad.

deleted

 

[gutonc]

Could someone describe the relationship between oncologists and dermatologists in the treatment of patients with melanoma and skin cancer? Are there certain cancers that one specialty or the other mainly deals with? Are they shared? How does the different training offered by these two specialties affect the ability of a physician to treat these diseases?

Melanoma, like all solid tumors, generally requires a multidisciplinary approach to treatment.
Surgeons (or Derm surgeons for melanoma) to cut it out/off
Radiation Oncologists to blast it
Medical Oncologists to poison it

Not all cases will require all 3 groups. In melanoma, once it's been resected, it may need adjuvant therapy depending on depth of invasion, nodal involvement, etc. If it's metastatic, systemic chemo is the way to go. In both of those cases, medical oncologists take over.