Pre-melanoma (lentigo maligna) and the earliest phase of melanoma (in-situ melanoma) are almost always cured with surgery. For melanoma beyond these early stages, it is the depth into the skin that the melanoma reaches that tells us how the disease might behave. This depth is termed the ’Breslow thickness’. The Breslow thickness will determine whether you require a simple excision or furthermore complex surgery including lymph gland biopsy. The degree of spread a melanoma has undergone will be classified by stages: Stage I: Localised to the original site only Stage II: Localised to the skin only – the original site plus local skin spread Stage III: Spread to the nearby lymph glands Stage IV: Spread to the internal organs of the body For more information on malignant melanoma, please see the British Association of Dermatologists website melanoma advice leaflets for stage 1, stage 2, stage 3, and stage 4 melanoma.