Treatments

Treatment of skin cancer
Specific treatment for skin cancer will be determined by your physician based on:

• your age, overall health, and medical history
• extent of the disease
• your tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
• expectations for the course of the disease
• your opinion or preference

There are several kinds of treatments for skin cancer, including the following:

surgery

Surgery is a common treatment for skin cancer -- used about 90 percent of the time, and often includes the following procedures:

• 1. cryosurgery - freezing the tumor, which kills cancer cells.
     
     
  2. electrodesiccation and curettage - burning the lesion and removing it with a sharp instrument.
     
     
  3. grafting - uses a skin graft to replace skin that is damaged when cancer is removed.
     
     
  4. laser therapy - using a narrow beam of light to remove cancer cells.
     
     
  5. Mohs micrographic surgery - removing the cancer and as little normal tissue as possible. During this surgery, the physician removes the cancer and then uses a microscope to look at the cancerous area to make sure no cancer cells remain.
     
     
  6. simple excision - cutting the cancer from the skin along with some of the healthy tissue around it.

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