A useful source should make its subject and purpose clear. The entries below describe particular pages from public agencies, cancer and dermatology societies, and other named references. Some are broad starting points; others explain a test, a report, a research question, or a practical aspect of care. Each description concerns the linked page itself.
The melanoma basics can provide context before detailed reading. A biopsy is a sample taken for examination. Staging describes the extent of a cancer, and a pathology report records findings from examining tissue. These definitions are general; the care team can explain an individual's results.
In the treatment entries, immunotherapy means an immune-system treatment category, and targeted therapy means a category directed at features of cancer cells. In the sun-safety entries, SPF is a sunburn-protection rating for sunscreen, while UPF describes how much ultraviolet radiation passes through fabric. The terms identify subjects for reading, rather than choices for an individual.
The trials reference explains research discussions, and the coverage article addresses practical payment vocabulary. The worldwide resources page provides more context for international sources. General information can clarify a question; personal medical questions belong with a doctor or care team.
US government agencies
National Cancer Institute: skin cancer patient hub. A broad starting point for skin cancer information. It groups reading about prevention, screening, treatment, statistics, and research.
MedlinePlus: melanoma. A melanoma topic with a short overview and routes to further reading. It identifies the organizations behind its linked information.
National Institute on Aging: skin care and aging. An introduction to skin changes with age. It also discusses skin protection and changes that may need medical attention.
NIAMS: learning about skin. A basic lesson about the skin as an organ and the jobs it performs. Its explanations provide context for reading about skin biology.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: appointment questions. A starting point for material about preparing for medical appointments. It identifies brochures, questions, and other communication resources.
Environmental Protection Agency: sun safety. A hub for ultraviolet-light information and the UV Index. It also points to sun-safety materials and other tools from the agency.
Cancer and dermatology societies
American Cancer Society: melanoma overview. Introduces melanoma, the cells where it begins, and forms of the disease. The page also organizes reading about diagnosis, care, and life after treatment.
American Academy of Dermatology: melanoma. An overview linking to melanoma signs, diagnosis, skin checks, and risk information. It includes material about skin cancer across skin tones.
American Academy of Dermatology: skin cancer. Introduces skin cancer more broadly. It distinguishes the main types and describes signs that can lead to a dermatologist's assessment.
Skin Cancer Foundation: melanoma. A melanoma overview beginning with the skin's pigment cells. It offers another general account alongside the government and society sources.
Understanding melanoma
National Cancer Institute: moles and melanoma risk. Explains ordinary moles and discusses atypical moles and melanoma. It separates the meaning of a mole from questions about cancer risk.
MedlinePlus encyclopedia: melanoma. An encyclopedia account of melanoma. It provides another route to a general disease explanation, rather than an assessment of a particular spot.
Tests, pathology and staging
National Cancer Institute: tests used in diagnosis. Describes history, examination, laboratory tests, imaging, and tissue samples in cancer diagnosis. It is a general cancer page, rather than a melanoma-only chapter.
MedlinePlus: skin biopsy. Explains a skin sample taken for laboratory testing. The page describes different biopsy methods and the questions they can help investigate.
National Cancer Institute: pathology reports. Explains how a tissue-examination report is organized and who writes it. It describes the information a report contains without interpreting a reader's findings.
National Cancer Institute: staging. Explains staging as a description of cancer extent. The page provides general context for understanding why staging appears in diagnosis discussions.
National Cancer Institute: sentinel node biopsy. Explains the first draining lymph node and its examination for cancer cells. It also describes possible harms and research about the procedure.
American Cancer Society: tests for melanoma. Focuses on a suspicious skin area and tests used after melanoma is found. It distinguishes diagnosis questions from questions about spread.
American Cancer Society: melanoma stages. Describes the system used for melanoma staging and disease extent. Its explanation belongs alongside a care-team discussion of a personal stage.
National Cancer Institute: skin cancer screening. Explains screening before symptoms and the evidence questions it raises. It distinguishes an abnormal screening result from a diagnostic finding.
Treatment and clinical trials
National Cancer Institute: melanoma patient summary. A detailed patient summary covering melanoma, tests, stages, and treatment categories. It provides broad information for discussion with a person's own care team.
American Cancer Society: treatment overview. Organizes reading about melanoma treatment categories and care-team roles. The overview describes a discussion of options, benefits, risks, and side effects.
National Cancer Institute: immunotherapy. Introduces the immune-system treatment category and related research. It also discusses possible side effects, without identifying an option for an individual.
National Cancer Institute: targeted therapy. Explains a category directed at features of cancer cells. Its account provides context for the biological targets discussed in treatment research.
National Cancer Institute: surgery. Explains surgery as a cancer-treatment category. It describes the work of a surgeon and general considerations around the procedure.
National Cancer Institute: what trials are. Introduces research involving people and the questions cancer trials investigate. Its sections distinguish treatment, prevention, screening, and supportive-care studies.
National Cancer Institute: trial information. A hub for eligibility, study design, consent, safety, costs, and finding study information. Its topics separate different parts of a trial discussion.
National Cancer Institute: trial costs. Distinguishes ordinary patient-care costs from costs associated with research. It discusses insurance, study payment, and possible personal expenses.
MedlinePlus: clinical trials. Introduces research questions, study plans, eligibility, and oversight. The page supplies routes to fuller explanations from named health-information sources.
Sun safety and prevention
National Cancer Institute: prevention evidence. Explains risk factors, protective factors, and prevention research for skin cancer. It distinguishes lowering risk from guaranteeing that cancer will not occur.
American Academy of Dermatology: skin self-exam. Describes how dermatologists organize a skin check. It focuses on noticing changes worth showing a doctor, rather than diagnosing a spot at home.
American Academy of Dermatology: ABCDE warning signs. Explains the ABCDE signs in descriptions of a spot's appearance and change. It also describes new or different spots as reasons for medical assessment.
American Academy of Dermatology: sunscreen labels. Explains broad-spectrum labeling, sun-protection ratings, and water resistance. Its guidance concerns label features, rather than a brand or product endorsement.
American Academy of Dermatology: sunscreen questions. A question-and-answer account of sunscreen and wider sun protection. It places sunscreen alongside shade, clothing, hats, and sunglasses.
American Cancer Society: protection from UV rays. Explains protection beyond a single outdoor occasion. It discusses sunlight and artificial ultraviolet sources, with a range of protective measures.
American Cancer Society: ultraviolet radiation. Introduces ultraviolet radiation, its sources, and research on cancer risk. It distinguishes sunlight from artificial sources of ultraviolet exposure.
Environmental Protection Agency: the UV Index. Explains the index as a forecast of ultraviolet intensity. It introduces the scale and routes to the agency's further information.
Environmental Protection Agency: UV Index scale. Explains exposure categories and their protection messages. It also discusses the relationship between a shadow and likely ultraviolet exposure.
Food and Drug Administration: sunscreen. Explains labeling, sun-protection ratings, water resistance, and use guidance. The page places sunscreen within a broader account of sun protection.
Skin Cancer Foundation: clothing and UPF. Explains what a fabric's ultraviolet-protection rating represents. It gives context for reading clothing labels without naming a clothing brand.
Coping, caregivers and life after treatment
National Cancer Institute: emotions and cancer. Describes feelings that can accompany cancer. Its account includes people with cancer as well as family members and friends.
National Cancer Institute: anxiety and distress. Explains levels of distress and adjustment concerns in cancer care. It describes assessment of emotional, social, and practical questions.
National Cancer Institute: caregivers. Discusses changing roles and the demands of providing care. It recognizes caregivers' needs alongside those of the person with cancer.
National Cancer Institute: follow-up care. Explains ongoing medical checkups after treatment. It discusses care plans and the physical and emotional questions that can arise afterward.
National Cancer Institute: life after treatment. Discusses the transition after treatment and changes in feelings and support. It is a broader life-after-treatment account rather than a melanoma-only chapter.
American Cancer Society: after melanoma treatment. A melanoma-focused account of follow-up and life after treatment. It discusses visits, skin checks, and concerns that can continue after treatment ends.
American Cancer Society: counseling and support. Describes counseling, groups, and other support for people affected by cancer. It includes patients and caregivers, with explanations of different formats.
MedlinePlus: living with cancer. A broad topic about cancer's effects on daily life and the people around a patient. It points to information and support subjects from named sources.
Costs and coverage
National Cancer Institute: costs and medical records. Discusses costs, bills, coverage terms, and organizing care information. It separates administrative records from the medical information they may accompany.
National Cancer Institute: financial distress. Explains financial problems associated with cancer-care costs. It discusses household circumstances and limits of the research summarized.
American Cancer Society: care costs. Introduces concerns about bills, insurance, personal expenses, and lost income. It groups further reading about the practical cost of care.
MedlinePlus: health insurance. Explains insurance as an arrangement for paying part of medical expenses. It gives an overview of coverage sources and related reading.
HealthCare.gov: pre-existing conditions. Defines a health problem present before new coverage starts. It explains protection against refusal or a higher charge because of that condition.
HealthCare.gov: Marketplace benefits. Explains benefit categories and the limits of what they establish. It notes that specific covered services can vary within those categories.
Medicare: clinical research coverage. Describes coverage of some costs in certain studies. It distinguishes that limited coverage from an assurance that every research expense is paid.
Outside the United States
World Health Organization: ultraviolet radiation. A worldwide account of ultraviolet exposure and its health effects. It describes factors that influence exposure and the agency's protection guidance.
Cancer Research UK: melanoma. A broad explanation covering origins, risks, symptoms, tests, and stages. It is another disease starting point for readers using international sources.
NHS: melanoma symptoms. Describes possible signs and medical assessment in the NHS context. It explains examination and referral as separate steps.
NHS: sunscreen and sun safety. Discusses shade, clothing, sunscreen labels, and outdoor protection. Some guidance and labeling explanations are specific to its UK setting.
Cancer Council Australia: melanoma. An organized account of melanoma, diagnosis, treatment categories, well-being, and follow-up. It includes caregiver topics and questions for care discussions.
Canadian Cancer Society: homepage. A general cancer starting point with a route to information by cancer type. It describes support for people with cancer and those close to them.
Melanoma Institute Australia: homepage. Shows research, care, and education themes and headings for patient guides. This homepage link does not claim the contents of a separate guide.
Euromelanoma: European campaign. Introduces a European prevention campaign and its information aims. It covers prevention, early diagnosis, skin type, and looking for changes.