This type of cancer is classified as a stage three or stage four cancer. The stage IV is often referred to as metastasis which affects the survival rate of the patient.Once a person has been diagnosed with stage III melanoma, their life expectancy can be up to five years. It has been observed that about 50 percent of the people who suffered from stage III melanoma survived up to five years. And, the survival rate is only 18 percent at stage IV. At this stage, the cancer would have spread to the vital organs. Once the cancer like melanoma gets under the skin and starts spreading to the organs it become difficult to identify its type. It may manifest itself into other types of cancer as well.

Melanoma is often diagnosed using the staging system. Once the stage of cancer is determined the medical team can put a treatment plan in place. The prognosis is determined after the staging of cancer is done. A biopsy is conducted to determine the stage of cancer. The biopsy involves collecting a skin sample to study the size of the cancer cells. Depending on the nature of the cells the stage can be determined. However, metastasis cells are pretty obvious under the microscope and it can be easily determined without further diagnosis.

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