The Darker Shade of Summer: Facing Melanoma at Liv Hospital

Of all the cancers that affect the human body, few are as deceptive as Melanoma. It often begins as nothing more than a small, dark spot a freckle that changes shape, or a mole that looks slightly different from its neighbors. It is quiet, painless, and easy to ignore.

But beneath the surface, Malignant Melanoma is a different beast entirely. It is the most aggressive form of skin cancer, with a unique ability to spread (metastasize) to distant organs like the brain and lungs if left unchecked.

At Liv Hospital, the approach to Melanoma is built on a simple premise: Speed saves lives. Located in Istanbul, a city that bridges continents, the hospital has established a center of excellence that treats Melanoma not just as a skin problem, but as a systemic oncological emergency.

The "Ugly Duckling": Digital Surveillance

The battle against melanoma cancer is won or lost at the diagnosis stage. The human eye is good, but it is not perfect. Liv Hospital enhances the doctor’s vision with Digital Dermatoscopy and Mole Mapping (FotoFinder).

For patients with high risk those with fair skin, a history of sunburns, or many moles standard checks are not enough. The hospital creates a "digital map" of the patient’s entire skin surface. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tracks every single mole over time, flagging microscopic changes in symmetry, border, or color long before they become visible to the naked eye.

This allows doctors to catch the "ugly duckling" the one mole that doesn't belong often before it even breaches the deeper layers of the skin.

The Sentinel: A Warning from the Lymph Nodes

Once Melanoma is diagnosed, the most critical question is: Has it moved?

Melanoma typically travels through the lymphatic system. To find out if it has spread, Liv Hospital surgeons perform a Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy (SLNB).

How it works: Instead of removing all the lymph nodes under the arm or in the groin (which can cause permanent leg or arm swelling), doctors inject a special tracer dye around the tumor site. This dye travels to the very first lymph node the "sentinel" that drains that area of skin.

• If the Sentinel is clean: The cancer likely hasn't spread, and the patient is spared unnecessary major surgery.
• If the Sentinel is positive: The team knows immediately that systemic treatment is needed.

This procedure acts as a precise early warning system, determining the entire course of future treatment.

The Surgical Balance: Cure vs. Scar

The primary treatment for Melanoma is Wide Local Excision. This means cutting out the tumor along with a "safety margin" of healthy skin to ensure no stray cancer cells are left behind.

However, Melanoma often strikes in visible areas the face, the neck, or the shin. This is where Liv Hospital’s Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery team steps in.

The goal is not just to leave the patient cancer-free, but to leave them whole. Using advanced flap techniques and skin grafts, surgeons reconstruct the excision site immediately. They understand that a scar on the face is not just a medical byproduct; it is a permanent reminder of the disease, and minimizing it is a crucial part of the healing process.

The Internal Revolution: Immunotherapy

For decades, if Melanoma spread to Stage 4, options were limited. Chemotherapy was toxic and often ineffective. Today, the landscape has changed entirely due to Immunotherapy.

Liv Hospital’s Medical Oncology department is at the forefront of this revolution. They use Checkpoint Inhibitors (drugs like Pembrolizumab or Nivolumab).

• The Mechanism: Cancer cells are smart; they wear a "mask" (PD-L1) that makes them invisible to the immune system. Immunotherapy drugs strip this mask away.
• The Result: The patient’s own white blood cells recognize the cancer and attack it.

This has turned what was once a rapidly fatal diagnosis into a manageable condition for many patients, with some achieving long-term remission even with advanced disease.

The Genetic Switch: Targeted Therapy

Not all Melanomas are the same. About half of them carry a specific genetic mutation known as BRAF.

At Liv Hospital, every advanced Melanoma is genetically profiled. If the BRAF V600E mutation is found, doctors can prescribe Targeted Therapies (BRAF/MEK inhibitors).

• The Difference: Unlike chemotherapy, which bombs the whole body, these drugs act like a sniper. They flip the "off switch" on the specific protein driving the cancer's growth.
• The Outcome: Tumors can shrink rapidly, often within weeks, providing relief from symptoms and extending survival significantly.

The Council: No Decisions in Isolation

Melanoma is a complex disease that requires a complex defense. At Liv Hospital, no single doctor makes the final call on a difficult case. That responsibility belongs to the Multidisciplinary Council.

In this room, a Dermatologist, a Surgical Oncologist, a Medical Oncologist, a Pathologist, and a Radiation Oncologist review the patient's file together.

• Is the tumor too close to a nerve?
• Should we do radiation (Versa HD) for a single brain metastasis?
• Is the patient a candidate for a new clinical trial?

This "hive mind" approach ensures that every angle is covered, minimizing error and maximizing the chance of survival.

A Realistic Hope

It is important to be honest: Melanoma is dangerous. It demands respect and immediate action. But at Liv Hospital, the narrative is no longer one of despair.

By combining the surveillance of AI, the precision of sentinel node biopsies, and the biological power of immunotherapy, the medical team is giving patients the one thing they need most: time. Time to heal, time to recover, and time to live under the sun safely.

Uneeb Khan is the founder of Techager and has over 6 years of experience in tech writing and troubleshooting. He loves converting complex technical topics into guides that everyone can understand.