Bill's Possible Course of Action

What Should Bill Do?

After learning about his melanoma, Bill needs to decide on the most efficient treatment plan. Some options for him to consider would be chemotherapy, excisional surgery, and radiation (or any combination of the three). Chemotherapy would require drugs to be used in order to destroy the cancer. Excisional surgery, on the other hand, would be removal of the cancer surgically, or physically cutting it out. Radiation therapy would require the use of radiation to kill the cancer and shrink the tumor.

• Taking these treatments into consideration, Bill's best course of action would be to undergo excisional surgery. With excisional surgery, a doctor would physically cut out the cancer tissue, along with some surrounding healthy tissue. This will help ensure that the cancer is removed from Bill's body so that it cannot spread and cause further damage. In order to guarantee that the cancer is gone, Bill should also follow up with some radiation treatments. These treatments would help make sure that all of the cancer is efficiently removed, targetting any possible areas that could still be infected or that may have been missed during surgery.

• Although these treatments may seem frightening or overwhelming to Bill, they are ultimately what's best. Bill needs the surgery and radiation in order to restore his health and get rid of the cancer as safely as possible. Because Bill's cancer has not yet spread to any other part of his body, he needs to keep this from happening. Surgery would definitely do the trick!