What types of skin cancer do we treat?
We treat a variety of skin cancers, but here are the most common.
How is skin cancer treated?
- Wide excision
- This can be used to treat both primary and recurrent tumors by removing the tumor and an area of healthy skin (margin) around the tumor
- This technique involves removing a margin of normal skin from around the cancer
- Typically the wound is closed with stitches
- Sometimes the wound may be closed with skin from another arae of the body (skin graft) or healthy skin moved from a nearby area (skin flap)
- Electrodesiccation and Currettage (ED&C)
- This technique is used to treat basal cells and squamous cells
- It invovles scraping the tumor with a curette (a surgical instrument shaped like a long spoon) and then using an electric needle to gentle burn (cauterize) the remaining cancer cells
- Imiquimod
- "Cancer Cream"
- Used in conjunction with ED&C
- Typically used over 6 weeks
- Mohs Micrographic Surgery
- This can be used to treat both squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma
- Individual layers of the cancer are removed and examined under a microscope one at a time until all the cancer has been removed
- The wound is closed with sutures