The Yawkey building entrance is now closed.

As of April 29, BMC’s Yawkey building doors are closed as an entrance. All patients and visitors on our main campus must enter the hospital via the Shapiro, Menino, or Moakley buildings, where they will be greeted by team members at a new centralized check-in desk. Learn more.

The most common treatment for melanoma is a surgical procedure called a wide local excision. During this procedure the melanoma is completely removed together with a margin of the surrounding healthy skin. How much healthy skin is removed depends on the depth of the growth. The margin is examined under a microscope for any remaining cancer cells. If no cancer cells are found, no further surgery is necessary. Many times, a wide local excision can cure early-stage melanoma.