Choosing Columbia for Melanoma Care
When you come to Columbia for melanoma care, you’re choosing more than just treatment—you’re choosing a team that sees the whole picture. From your first appointment with Columbia, we will help guide you with compassion, innovation, and expertise.
Our Approach and Expertise
At Columbia’s Melanoma Center, you will find care that is both cutting-edge and personalized to you. Our specialists combine years of experience with the most advanced melanoma treatments available today to design the best plan for you.
Why patients choose Columbia for melanoma care:
- Nationally recognized experts. Our care comes from nationally recognized melanoma experts in both research and treatment. As a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia is consistently ranked among the best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report, ensuring you receive world-class care.
- A one-of-its-kind Melanoma Center. Your care will be guided by one of the few dedicated melanoma centers in the region, providing expert care for all types and stages of melanoma.
- Digital Mole Mapping (screenings). You will have access to state-of-the-art screenings to catch melanoma as early as possible, including high-resolution mole mapping and imaging technologies for early detection and close monitoring.
- Cutting-edge surgical and noninvasive options. If needed, your surgeons use tissue-sparing techniques to remove melanoma with minimal cosmetic impact, and we offer complex resections and Gamma Knife radiosurgery when needed.
- Clinical trials and breakthrough therapies. Your doctors will work closely with Columbia University researchers, giving you early access to new treatments and clinical trials.
- Expert, coordinated care. Your fully coordinated, multidisciplinary care team—comprised of dermatologists, oncologists, surgeons, and other experts—will work together to deliver the best treatment for you, all tailored to your specific needs.
Melanoma center
Our dedicated Melanoma Center brings together experts in dermatology, surgery, oncology, and pathology to treat every type and stage of melanoma—including rare forms like mucosal and ocular melanoma. Whether you need standard mole removal or complex reconstructive surgery, our skilled and experienced specialists make sure your care is seamless and all in one place.
Melanoma clinical trials
As a leading academic cancer center, Columbia patients benefit from clinical trials that test new and promising treatments. You may have the option to participate in a groundbreaking melanoma clinical trial at Columbia that gives you access to advanced therapies not yet widely available.
Melanoma scans and screenings
Our dermatologists use full-body screenings and advanced tools like MoleMap technology to track and detect changes to your skin over time. These non-invasive tools are especially helpful for patients at higher risk and help your doctors track the progress of different areas and improve your treatment plan.
Advanced and noninvasive surgery options
Our surgeons are trained in tissue-sparing procedures that focus on removing cancer while preserving appearance and function. For early-stage or localized melanoma, we may use Mohs surgery or wide excision. For complex cases, our team is skilled and experienced in more technical reconstructive procedures and sentinel lymph node biopsies.
Expert dermatology care
At Columbia, you will be cared for by the nation’s top dermatologists and dermatologic surgeons—many of whom specialize in detecting skin cancer in people of all ethnicities and racial identities, immunocompromised patients, and those with rare subtypes of melanoma. Their deep expertise helps ensure faster, more accurate diagnoses and better long-term outcomes.
Comprehensive patient support services
Our supportive care staff works closely with you to provide a number of services that can help enhance your quality of life and overall well-being through:
- Integrative care, including guidance on exercise, lifestyle, diet, and nutrition.
- Emotional support, such as counseling and support groups.
- Pain management, to help you stay comfortable during treatment.
- Comprehensive follow-up care, to lower the chance of recurrence and manage any cosmetic changes or scarring.
Your melanoma care team at Columbia
At Columbia, your treatment plan is developed and reviewed by experts not just in oncology and dermatology- but also radiology, translational science, nursing, surgery, prognostic testing, ophthalmology, genetics, and more.