What are the treatments for skin cancer?

There are 4 main treatments for skin cancer. The main treatment is surgery. For most people, this is the only treatment they have to have. Often it is a day surgery, with just a local aesthetic. The area is completely removed, and the patient has a short recovery period. Most squamous cell cancers and basal cell cancers are totally curable with surgery.

Of course, there is not just one are different types of surgical techniques that are used depending upon the size of the cancer, the type of cancer, the stage of the cancer, and where the cancer is located.

For a wider or spreading cancer, you could be put under a general anaesthetic. This is because of the possibility of you needing a skin flap, which is a thicker piece of skin tissue with it’s own blood supply that is removed from another part of the body and used, or a skin graft can be taken.

For treatment and diagnosis of skin cancer, your doctor will probably refer you to a dermatologist, unless you have a large surface area of cancer or it is in an awkward spot to remove. If this is the case, you will be referred to a plastic surgeon

The doctor will often take out lymph nodes that are close to the cancer. This is often done as a preventive measure, so even if there is no sign of cancer, your doctor will usually insist that they are removed. Remember, even a few cancer cells can turn into tumours further down the line

Radiotherapy can also used to treat skin cancers if sugury is not suitable. It is usually used if the cancer covers a large area, or is on an area that is hard to operate on, or if there are reasons why the patient should not have surgery, i.e.: Radiotherapy is also given after surgery to lessen the chances of the cancer returning, and to treat recurred cancers after they were first treated with surgery

Chemotherapy is also used in the treatment of skin cancer. It can be taken as tablets or injections when used to treat skin cancers that are on the top layer of the skin and to treat actinic keratosis. Chemotherapy tablets or injections are only used for skin cancers that have spread. This treatment is mostly used to relieve symptoms in cancers that cannot be cured. This is still considered experimental treatment with ongoing clinical trials.

Photodynamic therapy or PTD is a new type of treatment using light, and is used as an alternative to surgery. Although there is not enough evidence that it controls the spread of squamous cell skin cancer, with too high a risk of the cancer returning, there is evidence that it is useful for several types of skin cancer. Photodynamic therapy using a cream is now available for use for Bowen's disease, actinic keratosis (also known as solar keratosis) and basal cell skin cancers. It is recommended that Photodynamic therapy is best used where the patient would need extensive surgery, so this is best for large, shallow skin cancers, or where there are multiple cancers in the area of concern. This being said, Photodynamic therapy is not used for deeper skin cancers because the light cannot penetrate far enough into the skin. In studies, Photodynamic therapy improved the appearance of the area treated better than surgery. In trials, Photodynamic therapy was as good as surgery in controlling actinic keratosis, basal cells and Bowen's disease in these trials.

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