If you have been noticing some unusual patterns on your skin or moles that are evolving too fast, it is important that you consult a doctor as soon as possible. While in most cases it may be a curable infection or a minor disease, in some unfortunate cases, it could very well be the threat of skin cancer. Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer. In Australia, the risk of skin cancer is at its highest! It is estimated that two in every three Australians are likely to be diagnosed by skin cancer by the time they reach their sixties.
While it is difficult to pinpoint the cause of skin cancer for every patient, it has been found out that harmful UV radiations from the sun are the biggest cause of skin cancer. Improper lifestyle choices, exposure to radioactive materials, genetic mutation, and pre-existing skin problems could further increase the risk of skin cancer.
However, if skin cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, most of its variants can almost always be cured. It is important you only go for professional advice at trusted clinics such as SunDoctors. There are various treatment methods and therapies that can help battle skin cancer.
Cryosurgery
This method is used to eliminate the cancerous cells detected at the beginning stages of the disease. In this method, the affected cells are exposed to liquid nitrogen. Liquid nitrogen freezes them off, thus rendering the cells inactive or dead.
Excision surgery
As the name suggests, doctors surgically operate the cancerous cells out of the body. If cancer has advanced to stage 1 or 2, the cells surrounding the affected area are also removed.
Mohs Surgery
The above-stated methods work fine on Non- Melanoma skin cancer. In the beginning stages of Non-melanoma, the cancerous cells do not invade the healthy organs or cells. Thus, it is easy to surgically operate the affected layer of the skin. However, in Melanoma, the disease finds its roots below the surface layer of the skin. Most of the times when Melanoma skin cancer is diagnosed, it has already advanced to the stages where it is capable of invading other cells.
Thus, a method is required to inspect and remove cancerous cells from each layer of the skin. This is what Mohs surgery accomplishes. In Mohs surgery, doctors carefully inspect every layer of the skin and look for any mutated or potentially harmful cells that could lead to a relapse of the disease. These cells are then removed layer-by-layer. Mohs surgery can be performed to treat Non-Melanoma as well as Melanoma.
However, at the final stages of the disease, the cancer cells grow and spread out rapidly. What this means is that they can not be simply excised or removed from the body via surgical treatments. Thus, to hamper the cancerous cells’ growth, the following methods of treatment are used.
Radiation therapy
In this method, the affected areas are exposed to high radiation particles such as focused X-rays, which successfully kill the cancerous cells off. Specialists debate that the effect of these radiation particles can also be adverse for the healthy cells of your body too. Thus, we recommend you only go for an experienced radiologist such as SunDoctors, to minimise the ill effects and maximise the effectiveness of the therapy.
Chemotherapy
In this method, anticancer agents in forms of lotions or creams are applied to the affected region. Some specialists may even prescribe a few pills for the same purpose. Chemotherapy needs regular sessions and is successful in hindering the growth of cancer in the affected body.
If the patient has some medical complications and can not go for a surgical method even in the beginning stages of the disease, then too non-invasive methods of treatment are used.
We hope this article has helped you understand the various modes of treatment for skin cancer. Since there is no permanent cure available to the disease, we recommend you keep yourself protected and safe at all times. Take care!