Skin cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in the United States today, with one in every five people developing skin cancer at some point in their lifetime.
If you have skin cancer, understanding your treatment options – and, most importantly, choosing the right option for you – is essential. The experts at The Derm are here to guide you through every step of your skin cancer journey.
Creating a personalized treatment plan
Here’s some good news: most skin cancer is treatable if it’s caught early.
To determine the best skin cancer treatment option(s) for you, your dermatologist must consider multiple factors, such as:
- The type of cancer
- The cancer’s size and depth
- The cancer’s location on your body
- If the cancer has spread
- The goal of the treatment
- Possible side effects
- Your overall health
The next step is to create a personalized treatment plan that’s right for you by explaining the benefits and drawbacks of the selected option(s) and answering any questions you have. We are in this fight together and will do everything we can to help you conquer skin cancer.
Exploring your skin cancer treatment options
More good news: small cancers limited to the skin’s surface may not require treatment beyond an initial biopsy that removes the entire growth. However, if your skin cancer is larger or more advanced, there are many treatment options to explore.
Excisional surgery
Excisional surgery is appropriate for many types of skin cancer. During the procedure, your dermatologist excises – or cuts out – the cancerous tissue along with a surrounding margin of healthy skin. (In some cases, we may recommend a wider excision that removes additional healthy skin around the area.)
You can usually have excisional surgery as a day patient with local anesthetic. However, for more extensive surgeries, you might need a general anesthetic and be asleep for the procedure. Your recovery time will depend on the type of excisional surgery you have.
Mohs surgery
Mohs surgery is a highly effective option for larger, recurring, or difficult-to-treat skin cancers, which may include basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. This surgical procedure is often used in sensitive or cosmetically important areas where it’s necessary to conserve as much skin as possible (such as your eyelids, ears, nose, lips, fingers, or scalp).
During Mohs surgery, we remove the skin cancer layer by layer, examining each layer under a microscope until all cancer cells are gone. This process allows us to remove the cancerous growth while preserving the healthy skin around it, minimizing your discomfort and recovery time.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy uses high-energy waves (similar to X-rays) to kill cancer cells and treat many types of skin cancer. While you lie on a table, the radiation machine rotates around you to deliver radiation to the targeted area(s).
Your dermatologist may recommend radiation therapy if the skin cancer covers a large part of your body or cannot be completely removed during surgery. We may also recommend radiation therapy after surgery to lower the risk of the cancer returning or if the cancer has spread to other parts of your body.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses anti-cancer drugs to destroy cancer cells. For cancers that are limited to the top layer of your skin, we may suggest anti-cancer medications that are applied directly to your skin (usually in the form of creams or lotions). This type of treatment is known as topical chemotherapy.
If the cancer has spread to other parts of your body, you may require systemic chemotherapy. With this type of treatment, anti-cancer drugs enter your bloodstream through pills, injections, IV drips, or other methods, then travel throughout your body to destroy cancer cells.
Biological therapy
Biological therapy puts chemicals into your body that prompt your immune system to kill cancer cells. The chemicals also make it easier for your immune system to find the cancer cells by turning on or off the signals that help them hide.
For example, drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors target specific receptors on the surface of cancer cells, blocking the signals they send that tell your immune system not to fight them.
Photodynamic therapy
Photodynamic therapy destroys cancer cells using a combination of laser light and medications that make the cells sensitive to light. This treatment option is suitable for actinic keratosis, certain basal cell carcinomas, and other skin cancers that are not too deep.
Your dermatologist applies a cream that contains the light-sensitizing chemical to the skin cancer and surrounding area, then shines a special light on the treatment area to kill the cancer cells while leaving normal cells intact.
Chemical peel
We sometimes use chemical peels to treat precancerous skin conditions, including actinic keratosis (which can develop into basal cell carcinoma or even squamous cell carcinoma if left untreated).
During the procedure, your dermatologist applies trichloroacetic acid or a similar chemical to the affected area, killing the precancerous cells. You may experience redness and/or peeling skin over the next several days.
Visit The Derm for skin cancer solutions
If skin cancer strikes, you can trust the experts at The Derm to provide you with the most advanced treatment options and the highest standard of care.
To learn more, schedule a skin cancer consultation with us today.
