Skin Cancer Treatment

Skin cancer treatment is given to a patient to destroy and remove a cancer and leave as small and unnoticeable scar as possible. The location and size of the skin cancer, patient’s age, patients medical history, patients health and the risk of scarring will help to determine the best form of skin cancer treatment for the patient. Skin cancer treatment is usually a form of radiation therapy, surgery or chemotherapy. The doctor may even suggest a combination of these methods to eradicate the skin cancer from the patient.

Common types of skin cancer treatment are:

1. Surgery provides a quick and easy method to remove the skin cancer. The cancer is cut from the skin and the recovery time is very short.

2. Mohs surgery is a special skin cancer treatment that aims at removing all of the cancerous tissue and a minimal amount of healthy tissue. This is the best option when the doctor is apprehensive on the depth and shape of the tumour. It is also used for treating recurring cancers and large tumours in hard-to-treat places. However, this type of surgery can only be done by doctors who are specially trained.

3. A popular method with doctors is to use curettage. This treatment is where cancer is scooped out using a curette which is a sharp instrument, with a spoon shaped end. Once this is done, the area is treated with electrodessication where an electric current is used for controlling bleeding and to kill remaining cancer cells around the wound edges.

4. Laser therapy is used for treating cancer involving the outer layer of skin where a narrow beam of light destroys and removes cancer cells.

5. Small skin cancers and precancerous skin conditions are best treated with cryosurgery. Here liquid nitrogen is applied to the growth to freeze and kill abnormal cells. The dead tissues falls off once the area thaws. This skin treatment does not hurt, but there may be swelling and pain once the area thaws out.

6. With topical chemotherapy, anticancer drugs such as cream or lotions are applied to the skin and are best for cancers limited to the epidermis.

7. Radiation is the best treatment where high energy rays are used for damaging cancer cells and stopping them from growing. This treatment is mainly used for treating areas that are hard to treat with surgery like the tip of the ear and nose.

8. Skin grafting may be required close to the wound if a large tumour is removed, this will help to reduce the amount of scarring. In this skin cancer treatment, a piece of healthy skin from another part of the body is used for replacing skin that was removed.

Even though there is effective skin cancer treatment, it can reoccur elsewhere on the skin. This is why follow up treatments with regular self examinations, regular doctor checkups and following of the doctor’s instructions are important to reduce the risk of skin cancer recurring again. If you have skin cancer you may be constantly concerned about the cancer spreading throughout your body and getting worse. Not all cancers are curable, but many are, so never give up looking for an answer to your skin cancer problems.