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What are the Treatments of Skin Cancer
If diagnosed early, nonmelanoma skin cancers can be cured with minor surgery to remove the affected tissue. Removal may be accomplished by a simple surgical excision, by freezing the cells with liquid nitrogen, or by destroying them with a laser. In some superficial cancers the cells may be removed by merely scraping them off; any residual cancer cells are then killed with pulses of electricity. A procedure known as Moh surgery shaves off cells one layer at a time, stopping when microscopic analysis indicates that no cancer remains. In some cases, removal of nearby lymph nodes may also be necessary.
Radiation therapy can be used to cure very small cancers or to delay progression of larger cancers. It is sometimes used in conjunction with surgery to kill any cancer cells left behind. Side effects of radiation treatment may include vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, or skin irritation resembling a sunburn or suntan.
Chemotherapy is sometimes used to treat skin cancers by directly applying a chemotherapeutic agent to the affected tissue; this reduces side effects, which can resemble those of radiation treatment. In the rare cases when nonmelanoma has spread to distant tissues, systemic chemotherapy may be necessary, although it generally will not cure the cancer.
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