Page last updated: April 2025
The information on this webpage was adapted from Understanding Melanoma - A guide for people with cancer, their families and friends (2025 edition). This webpage was last updated in April 2025.
Expert content reviewers:
This information is based on Australian clinical practice guidelines, and was developed with the help of a range of health professionals and people affected by melanoma:
- A/Prof Rachel Roberts-Thomson, Medical Oncologist, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, SA
- A/Prof Robyn Saw, Surgical Oncologist, Melanoma Institute Australia, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and The University of Sydney, NSW
- Alison Button-Sloan, Consumer
- Dr Marcus Cheng, Radiation Oncologist Registrar, Alfred Health, VIC
- Prof Anne Cust, Deputy Director, The Daffodil Centre, The University of Sydney and Cancer Council NSW, Chair, National Skin Cancer Committee, Cancer Council, and faculty member, Melanoma Institute Australia
- Prof David Gyorki, Surgical Oncologist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC
- Dr Rhonda Harvey, Mohs Surgeon, Dermatologist, Green Square Dermatology, The Skin Hospital, Darlinghurst and Sydney Melanoma Diagnostic Centre, RPA, NSW
- David Hoffman, Consumer
- A/Prof Jeremy Hudson, Southern Cross University, James Cook University, Chair of Dermatology RACGP, Clinical Director, North Queensland Skin Cancer, QLD
- Dr Damien Kee, Medical Oncologist, Austin Health and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Clinical Research Fellow, Walter & Eliza Hall Institute, VIC
- Angelica Miller, Melanoma Community Support Nurse, Melanoma Institute Australia, WA
- Romy Pham, 13 11 20 Consultant, QLD
- A/Prof Sasha Senthi, Radiation Oncologist, Alfred Health, and Clinical Research Fellow, Victorian Cancer Agency, VIC
- Dr Chistoph Sinz, Dermatologist, Melanoma Institute Australia, NSW
- Dr Amelia Smit, Research Fellow, Melanoma and Skin Cancer, The Daffodil Centre, The University of Sydney and Cancer Council NSW
- Nicole Taylor, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre, Westmead Hospital, NSW
Understanding sun protection
Most melanomas are caused by exposure to the sun’s UV radiation. After a diagnosis of melanoma, it is especially important to check your skin regularly and follow SunSmart behaviour.
Do not use solariums. Also known as tanning beds or sun lamps, solariums give off artificial UV radiation and are banned for commercial use in Australia.
Daily sun protection times
The UV Index shows the intensity of the sun’s UV radiation. A UV index of three or above means that UV levels are high enough to damage unprotected skin, and you need to use all five types of sun protection.
The recommended daily sun protection times are the times of day UV levels are expected to be three or higher. These will vary according to where you live and the time of year.
Each day, use the free SunSmart Global UV app to check the recommended sun protection times in your local area. You can also find sun protection times at the Bureau of Meteorology or in the weather section of daily newspapers.
Sun exposure and vitamin D
UV radiation from the sun causes skin cancer, but it is also the best source of vitamin D. People need vitamin D to develop and maintain strong, healthy bones.
The body can absorb only a set amount of vitamin D at a time. Most people get enough vitamin D through incidental exposure to the sun, while using sun protection.
When the UV Index is three or above, this may mean spending just a few minutes outdoors on most days of the week, depending on where in Australia you live and the time of year.
However, people with naturally very dark skin tones, who do not burn, may need longer sun exposure to get enough vitamin D.
After a diagnosis of melanoma, talk to your doctor about the best ways to get enough vitamin D while reducing your risk of getting more melanomas. Your doctor may advise you to limit your sun exposure as much as possible when the UV Index is three or above.
In some cases, this may mean you don’t get enough sun exposure to maintain your vitamin D levels. Your doctor may advise you to take a supplement. Overexposure to UV is never recommended.
Your guide to best cancer care
A lot can happen in a hurry when you’re diagnosed with cancer.
The guide to best cancer care for melanoma can help you make sense of what should happen. It will help you with what questions to ask your health professionals to make sure you receive the best care at every step.
Read the guide
Life after treatment
If you had early melanoma, your main concern after treatment may be how to protect your skin and watch for any new melanomas.
If you had a high-risk or advanced melanoma, you may find that the cancer experience doesn’t end on the last day of treatment.
You may have mixed feelings, and worry that every ache and pain means the melanoma is coming back.
Some people say that they feel pressure to return to “normal life”. It is important to allow yourself time to adjust to the physical and emotional changes. Your family and friends may also need time to adjust.
Cancer Council 13 11 20 can help you connect with other people who have had melanoma, and provide you with information about the emotional and practical aspects of living well after cancer.
Follow-up appointments
After you have had one melanoma, you have about five times the risk of developing a new melanoma compared with the average person of the same age.
It is important to regularly check your skin for any changes, go to your follow-up appointments and take extra care with sun protection. People with advanced melanoma will probably have more frequent follow-up appointments.
At your appointments, your doctor will check the treated area and your lymph nodes. Your doctor will also check the rest of your skin for any new melanomas. You may need to have CT scans or PET–CT scans before follow-up appointments.
You may feel anxious before a follow-up appointment or test. Talk to your treatment team or call Cancer Council 13 11 20 if you are finding it hard to manage this anxiety.
Between follow-up appointments, let your doctor know immediately of any symptoms or health problems.
Recurrence
For people with early melanoma, it will usually not come back (recur) after treatment, although they do have a higher risk of developing a new melanoma.
The risk of the treated melanoma returning is higher for people with regional melanoma (stage 3).
Recurrence can occur at the site where the melanoma was removed; in the lymph nodes; or in other parts of the body, such as the lung, liver or brain. If the melanoma returns, your doctor will discuss the treatment options with you.
These will depend on where the melanoma is, as well as the number of sites, its extent and your general health. You may be offered immunotherapy, targeted therapy or the option to join a clinical trial.
