Advanced melanoma skin cancer
Melanoma skin cancer is advanced if it has spread to other parts of the body. Or if it has come back after treatment. Where the cancer has spread to is called a secondary cancer or metastasis. Sometimes melanoma is advanced when it is first diagnosed.
Lots of information and support is available to you, your family and friends. Many people find that knowing more about their situation can make it easier to cope.
Finding out you have advanced melanoma can be a shock. It’s common to feel uncertain and anxious. It's normal to not be able to think about anything else.
Treatment may be able to shrink the melanoma or stop it growing for a time. You will need to talk to your specialist to understand:
what your diagnosis means
what’s likely to happen
what treatments are available
how treatment can help you
You might find it helpful to talk to other people about how you are feeling.
Specialist nurses can help if you’re finding it difficult to cope or if you have any problems. They can get you the help you need. They can also give you information and signpost you to support in your local area.
You might find it helpful to talk to your family and friends about the cancer. But some people are scared of the emotions this could bring up and won’t want to talk. They might worry that you won't be able to cope with your situation or be afraid they will say the wrong thing.
It can strain relationships if your family or friends don't want to talk. But talking can help increase trust and support between you.
Help your family and friends by letting them know if you would like to talk about what’s happening and how you feel.
Find ways to help manage your emotions
If you find it easier to talk to someone other than your friends and family, you may prefer to speak to a counsellor.
Read about counselling and cancer
Some people find great comfort in religion. You might find it helpful to talk to:
a local minister
a hospital chaplain
a religious leader of your faith
Chat to other people affected by cancer in our online forum. Our friendly team of moderators and nurses are also on hand to support you.
Advanced melanoma skin cancer is likely to cause changes inside your body that affect you physically. The symptoms you can get depends on where the cancer has spread to. They might include:
feeling very tired (fatigue) and lacking energy a lot of the time
weight loss
pain
feeling short of breath or having trouble breathing
Read more about the symptoms of advanced melanoma skin cancer
If you have physical difficulties that make it hard to cope at home, your specialist nurse or a district nurse can talk to you about what may help you.
It is also important that you feel as well as you possibly can. Tell your doctor or nurse if you have any symptoms. They can help you get the treatment you need to relieve them.
You might have extra expenses due to the cancer. Your specialist nurse or GP can help you get grants for heating costs, holidays or household expenses related to your illness.
Ask to see a social worker. They can let you know which benefits or grants you can claim and help with the claiming process.
You can get emotional and practical support through your hospital, local hospice and GP practice. You can also get help from charities and support groups.
Your GP manages your healthcare when you are at home. Your specialist doctor will update your GP about your cancer care. Your GP can help with any medical problems that come up. They can also make referrals to a community service for you. The availability of the different community services may vary depending on where you live.
These nurses work in different places in your local area and may visit you in your home. They can:
give medicines or injections
check temperature, blood pressure and breathing
clean and dress wounds
monitor or set up drips
give emotional support
teach basic caring skills to family members where needed
get special equipment such as hospital beds, special mattresses, commodes or bed pans
Community services vary from area to area. Your hospital specialist nurse can tell you what is locally available to you.
Community specialist palliative care nurses include Macmillan nurses and hospice nurses. They specialise in symptom management such as pain control, sickness, and other cancer symptoms. They also give emotional support to you and your carers.
Marie Curie nurses give nursing care to people with advanced cancer in their own homes. They can visit during the day or spend the night in your home to give your carers a break.
Read more about Marie Curie nurses
Social workers can help to support you with your situation at home. They can arrange:
home helps to help with shopping or housework
home care assistants for washing and dressing
meals on wheels
respite care
Your social worker can also help with money matters by checking you get all the benefits you are entitled to. Or they can advise you about charity grants for things like extra heating costs or special diets.
Contact a social worker yourself by getting in touch with your local social services office. Or ask your hospital nurse or your GP to refer you.
There is usually other help available but services can vary from place to place.
Sometimes local voluntary groups offer sitting services. Someone comes to stay with you while your relative goes out.
Good neighbour schemes offer befriending or practical help with shopping or transport.
Local cancer support groups often offer practical help. And they are a good source of information about services in your area. Ask your doctor or nurse about local groups.
Thinking about your priorities and planning what you want to do can help you to feel more in control. You might want to talk about how you want to spend your time and what is and isn’t important to you.
Some of your future plans might no longer be realistic. But you might get round to doing something you always wanted to do but weren’t able to make time for.
You can talk to your doctor about managing your treatment around your plans. Or if you can have your treatment at the same time. Your specialist nurse will be able to support you and help you arrange this.
It’s natural to want to find out what is likely to happen in the last few weeks or days of life.
You might need to choose where you want to be looked after and who you want to care for you.
Read our information about dying with cancer
Last reviewed: 02 Jan 2025
Next review due: 02 Jan 2028
Advanced melanoma skin cancer means the cancer has spread to another part of the body such as the liver, lungs or bone. Or it has come back after treatment.
The symptoms of advanced melanoma can depend on where the cancer has spread to. It's possible to have treatment to control many of the symptoms.
Coping with cancer can be difficult. There is help and support available. Find out about the emotional, physical and practical effects of cancer and how to manage them.
Survival for melanoma skin cancer depends on many factors including the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed, the treatment you have and your general health.
Organisations, support groups and other resources are available to help you cope with melanoma skin cancer and its treatment.
Melanoma develops in cells called melanocytes. You have these in your skin and other parts of your body. Melanoma that starts in the skin is called melanoma skin cancer.
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