At that time he did not know what it actually was and described it as "cancerous fungous excrescence". The excised tumor was then conserved in the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of surgeons of England.

It was not until 1968 that microscopic examination and testing of the tumor revealed it to be melanoma. French physician Rene Laennec was the first person to describe melanoma as a rarest form of skin cancer. His report on melanoma as a skin cancer was first published in 1806. The first formal acknowledgement of advanced melanoma as incurable form of disease came from the surgeon Samuel Cooper in 1840. He was also the first doctor to put forward the theory of removal of tumor through surgery.

In 1956, Australian Professor Henry Oliver Lancaster found that melanoma (black mole cancer) was associated with intensity of sunlight. He also stated that excessive exposure to suns UV rays is one of the major risk factor in the development of melanoma.

Though melanoma accounts for only 4 percent of all skin cancers, it is responsible for more than 75 percent of skin cancer related death worldwide. Melanoma in early stages can be easily treated by removing the cancerous mole. However, melanoma that has spread to other parts of body including, liver, lungs and brain is treated with chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy and adjuvant therapy.

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