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Below, week by week, is what OnCo's record of Stage III melanoma (after surgery) says about the first two months: the order is typical, the timing is yours to ask about. Stage III melanoma has spread to nearby lymph nodes but not further, and after surgery a year of immunotherapy, or of targeted pills if the cancer has a BRAF mutation, roughly halves the chance of it coming back. The newest trials show that giving immunotherapy before the operation instead of after works even better and lets most people stop treatment early. Sections appear only where the record has something to say. Orientation, not medical advice.
Staging tests establish exactly what and where the cancer is. Everything else follows from the answers.
Ask which of these were tested and what the results were; see the report reader for what each value means.
These specialties appear in the standard of care for this cancer. In most centres they meet weekly as a tumour board to agree each plan; you can ask when yours was discussed and what was decided.
A second opinion from a centre that treats many similar cases is normal, not rude; the standard of care tells you what to compare it against.
Each row is a setting from the standard of care, in the order it usually arises. Not all will apply to you; your stage and biomarkers decide which do. The guideline grade, where recorded, says how strong the evidence is.
Neoadjuvant ipilimumab plus nivolumab for two cycles then surgery, with adjuvant therapy only if the pathological response is poor (NADINA); or neoadjuvant then adjuvant pembrolizumab (SWOG S1801).
One year of nivolumab (CheckMate 238) or pembrolizumab (KEYNOTE-054); dabrafenib-trametinib for one year is the alternative in BRAF V600-mutant disease (COMBI-AD).
Intismeran autogene with pembrolizumab met its endpoints in INTerpath-001 (2026); regulatory review pending.
Wide local excision, no completion lymph node dissection (MSLT-II), nodal ultrasound surveillance, then adjuvant systemic therapy.
Excision where feasible; intralesional talimogene laherparepvec or the immunocytokine daromun before surgery; isolated limb perfusion for extensive limb disease.
Generated from this cancer's standard of care, biomarkers and open problems. Take the group that matches where you are. To tick, add your own and print, open the one-page appointment sheet.
Trials open now for this cancer in OnCo, largest phase first. Joining a trial is a decision like any other: ask what the comparison arm is, whether a placebo is used, and what happens if you leave. The cancer page searches ClinicalTrials.gov live for more.
Much of what helps in the first weeks is free if you know to ask: testing, helplines, rides and lodging, second opinions, trial travel.
Every term links to the glossary.