Treatment

Doctors may use liquid nitrogen on precancerous conditions to freeze and kill the cells. The skin will later blister and shed off. This procedure will sometimes leave a white scar. More than one freezing may be needed.

If you have a precancerous condition that’s only in the outer layer of your skin, your doctors may use a narrow beam of high-intensity light to destroy the cells.

This is a common procedure where the cancer is removed with a sharp, spoon-shaped instrument called a curette. Electrodessication uses an electric current to control bleeding and kill any remaining cancer cells after the doctor uses the curette. You may be left with a white, flat scar after this procedure.

Skin cancer-specialized surgeons

Our skin cancer surgeon team includes experts in surgical oncology, reconstruction and head and neck surgery. This team specializes in the treatment of skin cancer and you can feel confident knowing that the surgeon who cares for you is best-suited for your specific diagnosis.

Mohs surgery

This particular surgical technique removes the visible tumor and small fragments around the edge. The doctor will look at each fragment under a microscope until all the cancer is removed. This is typically used for larger tumors, tumors in hard-to-reach places and cancers that have come back in the same place.

Grafting

After a large tumor is removed, your surgeon may use a skin graft from another area of your body to close the wound and reduce scarring.

If you have skin cancer that is hard to treat with surgery, such as cancer on your eyelid, the tip of your nose or your ear, you may need radiation therapy, which uses high-energy rays or other particles to kill the cancer cells.

Chemotherapy is used to treat cancer that’s limited to the top layer of the skin or to treat precancerous skin conditions. It may be prescribed in a cream or lotion form. These medicines are usually applied daily for several weeks. They may cause inflammation, which goes away after treatment.

Some doctors are using imiquimod (Aldara), which is an immune-response modifier, to treat early basal cell carcinoma, actinic keratosis (squamous cell carcinoma precursor) and very thin squamous cell carcinoma. It is a topical medicine applied several times a week.

n rare cases, squamous cell carcinoma can grow deeper into the skin and can spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body. The most susceptible areas are sites of a chronic inflammatory skin condition, mucous membranes (skin that lines the mouth, nose, vagina and anus) and the lips. Surgery alone is not effective in treating metastatic skin cancer. Your treatment may include chemotherapy, radiation therapy or immunotherapy (which boosts your immune system’s ability to fight the cancer.)