These new therapies, used only in the presence of metastatic melanoma, offer significant hope for patients with advanced disease. Wearing sun-protective clothing when exposed to sunlight. Avoiding artificial sources of ultraviolet light. 9 Health care professionals can help our nation achieve this goal. Because melanoma is largely preventable and highly curable when discovered early, nurses have a vital role in educating the public about it.
Nurses can participate in programs that screen for melanoma at clinics, schools and workplaces.
They can teach patients how to examine their own skin. Half of all melanomas are found by patients themselves through self-examination. 2 Nurses who care for patients with melanoma face the challenges common to caring for all patients with cancer, which include managing the side effects of medications and treatments, controlling pain, maintaining adequate nutrition, dealing with altered body image and helping cope with the fear of disability or death. Advances in cancer therapy have prolonged survival times to the point that cancer now may be considered a chronic condition. The paradigm has shifted from a focus on inevitable death to a focus on living and quality of life.