How long does melanoma (after a mole becomes malignant) take to spread and cause a person to die?

Does it take years after malignancy of a mole or does melanoma spread within a few weeks as with other cancers? For example if someone has a mole (dysplastic nevi) for more than 2 years, could it be that this mole has been malignant for two years or longer?

Difficult to say as each person is an individual. Some cancers grow slower than others and some take off like wildfire and spread within a few weeks. Cancer means the uncontrollable growth of cells . . so the fact that they may grow quickly should never come as a surprise to anyone.

Death from malignancy is also an individual thing since much will depend on the overall health of the individual, age, and their response to treatment.

As for your question about how long it takes a mole to become malignant .. again it depends on the person. Some cancers can stay dormant for undetermined amount of time and than suddenly begin growing rapidly. No one knows why or we would be able to stop cancer.
That is why it is best to treat cancer when it is small and manageable because you never know when it is going to have a 'growth spurt' and spread like wildfire.

ask a doctor...best way to find out...and they will most likely give you an answer which is knowledgable

My firs wife noticed a change in a mole on her arm. Not knowing what it was, she waited about 6 months before going to a doctor. She died 2 yrs later. IF not for the treatment she recieved, it would have probably been much sooner. Melanoma is extremely aggresive. It grows and spreads rapidly.