Skin cancer treatment is given to a patient to remove and destroy a cancer and leave as small and unnoticeable scar as possible. The size and location 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 offers an easy and quick 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 a minimal amount of healthy tissue and all of the cancerous 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. Precancerous skin conditions and small skin cancers 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 pain and swelling once the area thaws out.
6. With topical chemotherapy, anticancer drugs such as lotion or creams are applied to the skin and are best for cancers limited to the epidermis.
7. The best treatment is radiation where high energy rays are used for damaging cancer cells and to stop them from growing. This treatment is mainly used for treating areas that are difficult 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 minimize the amount of scarring. With 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 somewhere else on the skin. This is why follow up treatments with regular doctor checkups, regular self examinations and following of the doctor’s instructions are important to minimize the risk of skin cancer recurring again. If you have skin cancer you may be constantly worried 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.
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