If you have received a diagnosis of skin cancer you might be wondering what treatment which you will receive as, even if you have already been over your treatment choices with your doctor, you might still feel lost due to the inability to absorb all the technical jargon that was thrown at you. It is also possible that you might not have taken in the information because of the shock following your diagnosis.
Detailed below therefore is a brief description of some of the treatments that may be used when treating skin cancer.
The precise treatment that you will receive is going to depend upon a number of different things which include your age and whether any cancer has spread to other parts of your body.
Your treatment may consist of surgery during which your surgeon may decide to remove the cancerous region itself together with some of the surrounding skin tissue. The amount of normal skin removed will be dependent upon the particular form of cancer found and how deep that cancer is. Usually an area of about one to two centimeters of surrounding skin will be removed.
Some types of skin cancer can be treated by freezing using liquid nitrogen or treated with drugs such as Imiquimod which is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the use on superficial basal cell carcinoma.
A more extensive type of surgery might be needed where a sentinel lymph node is found to contain cancer cells after a biopsy of a suspect area. This technique is designed to remove lymph nodes close to the cancer along with affected skin and is generally followed up with radiotherapy.
Another recent development for skin cancer treatment is what is known as immunotherapy cancer vaccination although research into this form of treatment is still being conducted and it is not yet widely available. You may be given chemotherapy if the cancer has spread into other areas.
There is no definitive form of prevention for skin cancer but there are a number of things which you can do to lessen your chance of developing the disease and the most important and generally ignored is to keep your skin covered if you are out in the sun.
All of us, no matter what the type or color of skin you have should make use of a sunscreen with a protection factor of at least 15. It is also a good idea to wear sufficient clothing and remain in the shade as much as possible, particularly between 11am and 3pm when the sun's rays are at their strongest. By the same token, it is not advisable to make use of sunlamps and sun beds as these too give off harmful rays.
Lastly, keep an eye on your skin and pay particular attention to any changes in moles and lesions. If changes are seen then you ought to see your doctor as soon as possible so that you can be treated while the problem is at an early stage - 15252
Detailed below therefore is a brief description of some of the treatments that may be used when treating skin cancer.
The precise treatment that you will receive is going to depend upon a number of different things which include your age and whether any cancer has spread to other parts of your body.
Your treatment may consist of surgery during which your surgeon may decide to remove the cancerous region itself together with some of the surrounding skin tissue. The amount of normal skin removed will be dependent upon the particular form of cancer found and how deep that cancer is. Usually an area of about one to two centimeters of surrounding skin will be removed.
Some types of skin cancer can be treated by freezing using liquid nitrogen or treated with drugs such as Imiquimod which is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the use on superficial basal cell carcinoma.
A more extensive type of surgery might be needed where a sentinel lymph node is found to contain cancer cells after a biopsy of a suspect area. This technique is designed to remove lymph nodes close to the cancer along with affected skin and is generally followed up with radiotherapy.
Another recent development for skin cancer treatment is what is known as immunotherapy cancer vaccination although research into this form of treatment is still being conducted and it is not yet widely available. You may be given chemotherapy if the cancer has spread into other areas.
There is no definitive form of prevention for skin cancer but there are a number of things which you can do to lessen your chance of developing the disease and the most important and generally ignored is to keep your skin covered if you are out in the sun.
All of us, no matter what the type or color of skin you have should make use of a sunscreen with a protection factor of at least 15. It is also a good idea to wear sufficient clothing and remain in the shade as much as possible, particularly between 11am and 3pm when the sun's rays are at their strongest. By the same token, it is not advisable to make use of sunlamps and sun beds as these too give off harmful rays.
Lastly, keep an eye on your skin and pay particular attention to any changes in moles and lesions. If changes are seen then you ought to see your doctor as soon as possible so that you can be treated while the problem is at an early stage - 15252
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