Types of cancer
Life after melanoma treatment
Life doesn't automatically go back to what it was like before cancer once the treatment stops. Learn how to live well after cancer, including with the emotional impact of cancer on yourself and your relationships, follow-up care and managing side effects.
Last updated:
Sources and references 
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.
Dealing with feelings of sadness
If you have continued feelings of sadness, have trouble getting up in the morning or have lost motivation to do things that previously gave you pleasure, you may be experiencing depression. This is quite common among people who have had cancer. Talk to your GP, because counselling or medication – even for a short time – may help.
Some people can get a Medicare rebate for sessions with a psychologist. Cancer Council may also run a counselling program in your area. For information about coping with depression and anxiety, call Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 or visit the Beyond Blue website. For 24-hour crisis support, call Lifeline 13 11 14 or visit the Lifeline website.
Follow-up appointments
After you have had one melanoma, you have about 5 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.
What if the melanoma returns?
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.
Sources and references
Understanding Melanoma - A guide for people with cancer, their families and friends
Acknowledgements
This edition has been developed by Cancer Council NSW on behalf of all other state and territory Cancer Councils as part of a National Cancer Information Subcommittee initiative.
We thank the reviewers of this booklet: 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.
We also thank the health professionals, consumers and editorial teams who have worked on previous editions of this site.
References
- Cancer Council Australia Melanoma Guidelines Working Party, Clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of melanoma, Melanoma Institute Australia, Sydney, viewed 31 January 2025, available from cancer.org.au/clinical-guidelines/skin-cancer/melanoma.
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), Cancer Data in Australia, AIHW, Canberra,
2024, viewed 31 January 2025, available from aihw.gov.au/reports/cancer/cancer-data-inaustralia/data. - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), Cancer in Australia 2021, AIHW, Canberra, 2021.
Melanoma
Cancer Council 13 11 20
Call us to talk to a specially trained health professional for free and confidential support and information.
Guide to best cancer care
This melanoma guide explains the standard of high-quality cancer care that all Australians can expect, from diagnosis, to treatment, recovery, and living with cancer.