The most serious form of skin cancer is called melanoma. Doctors have known about melanoma since at least the 5th century B.C., when Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, mentioned it in his writings. The first successful surgery for melanoma happened in 1787.

Melanoma begins in cells deep in the skin, called melanocytes. There are other forms of skin cancer, but melanoma is by far the most dangerous. That’s because it’s much more likely to spread to other parts of the body, which is called metastasis. That makes melanoma harder to treat.

Diagnosis to Treatment documentary series will be publish every Wednesday. Every week we are going to examine different cancer types.