Skin Cancer & Treatment Options
Basal cell carcinoma
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer and appears frequently on sun-exposed surfaces on the head, neck, and hands. However, it can occur on any body part. It usually occurs in fair-skinned people. Basal cell carcinomas are slow growing skin cancers, yet are considered tissue destructive. This means that if the cancer goes untreated, it will begin to bleed, crust over, heal, and repeat this cycle. It is very rare that this type of cancer metastasizes (spreads to other parts of the body), it can extend beneath the skin to the bone, nerves, and cause a considerable amount of localized damage.
Treatment
Dr. Green & Dr. Chaplik use many different treatment options and tailor it to each and every case depending on the depth of the cancer, the location, and sometimes based on the patient’s needs. Some of the more common dermatologic surgical treatment options that the doctors perform as well as recommend include surgical excision, electrodessication and curettage (also known as ED&C) which involves alternately scraping or burning the tumor with low levels or electricity, and Mohs micrographic surgery (a specialized procedure which is used to remove the whole tumor while spaing as much normal skin as possible – usually for skin cancers on the eyelids, ears, nose, and lips).
When found early and treated properly, Dr. Green & Dr. Chaplik have a cure rate of greater than 95%.