Our Mission is to provide information about melanoma to patients, their families, and the medical community and we have created this web site to facilitate that goal.

The strength of the Northern California Melanoma Center lies in the Consulting Panel of physicians who meet weekly to discuss each new patient to combine their expertise in making recommendations for patient care.

During the initial one day consultation, the patient's case is thoroughly reviewed, detailed information about the patient's own disease is provided to the patient and his/her family, and therapeutic options discussed.

This web site provides information about melanoma, how it behaves, and the Staging System physicians use in describing the disease. It also provides information about the early treatment of melanoma, emphasizing the importance of surgery.

It addresses questions many patients ask regarding coping with melanoma, such as what to do about diet and sun exposure.

The Northern California Melanoma Center has a particular emphasis on providing not only the best standard therapy available, but also offering innovative therapies to patients. Currently Active Clinical Trails offered by the Center are described, as well as the rationale for each study, and eligibility criteria for participating. Our work has been published in a number of Journals. Copies of these can be viewed under Publications.

Detailed reviews of therapeutic considerations, with literature references, in two specific situations are provided: surgical adjuvant treatment of melanoma and therapy of metastatic melanoma.

We hope this website and melanoma links are helpful to you. Please visit the Melanoma Blog which I also author on a regular basis.

Lynn E. Spitler, M.D.
Director
Northern California Melanoma Center

P. S. If this web site has been useful, please send a tax-deductible donation to the Melanoma Research Fund at the St. Mary's Medical Center Foundation.

Disclaimer

• Information on this Website is for educational and reference purposes only.
• Information should not be interpreted as a recommendation for a specific treatment plan, product, or course of action.
• This Website does not provide specific medical advice.
• The Northern California Melanoma Center Consulting Panel is not engaged in providing medical or professional services via this Website.
• Visiting this Website is not intended to create, nor does it create a doctor-patient relationship between the doctors of the Northern California Consulting Panel and Website visitors.
• This Website does not replace medical consultations with qualified health or medical professionals.
• While this Website frequently receives content updates, some information may be out of date.
• See a professional healthcare provider if you suspect you have melanoma and/or have questions about diagnosis or therapy of melanoma.