@dave62 I wanted to share some experience with melanoma. My husband had melanoma on his hand that had been there a year, and we found it when it had ulcerated through the skin. It did not start from a mole; instead it began under the surface of the skin as a spherical bump that was growing in size. It was the diameter of an eraser on a pencil and the same color. It was Stage 2a and was surgically removed with a wide margin and a skin graft was done moving a round patch of skin from his belly. Prior to surgery we were given papers that discussed statistics which gave him an 80% probability that the cancer had not spread. The sentinel lymph nodes in the arm pit were mapped first with a blue dye so the surgeon would know where they were, and immediately afterward he was in surgery for the melanoma and removal of some sentinal lymph nodes. Those nodes came back clean. We were very lucky that the cancer had not spread. They did a genetic test from Castle lab to predict future cancer risk and that showed he was predisposed to a high cancer risk. He has had several abnormal moles and a large one between toes that was removed during the cancer surgery which needed a skin flap closure. That required a plastic surgeon for both the grafts. We have to be vigilant now with dermatology exams every 3 months and they keep finding, and removing abnormal moles. Your surgeon would have received a pathology report that would say if the entire cancer had been removed and if the margins were clean. If the cancer was spreading, the margins would have been irregular with cells breaking off. The report should indicate if that was observed. If your margins were clean, that is great. Another cancer can also appear independently of the first lesion. Your surgeon is probably telling you to have dermatology exams every 3 months for the first 2 years, and probably annually after that as well as other screenings like MRI and CT scans as routine follow up. Melanoma is very easy to miss, so you will need to be vigilant. My husband also gets opthalmology exams every 6 months because melanoma can happen in the eye. Your surgeon needs to answer if a sentinal node biopsy is required. They may have done it already without your knowledge during your surgery.