Skin Cancer

The primary cause of skin cancer is ultraviolet radiation—most often from the sun, but also from artificial sources like sunlamps and tanning beds. In fact, researchers believe that our quest for the perfect tan, an increase in outdoor activities, and the potential thinning of the earth’s protective ozone layer are behind the alarming rise we’re now seeing in skin cancers.

Anyone can get skin cancer—no matter what your skin type, race or age. But your risk is greater if…

• Your skin is fair and freckles easily.
• You have light-colored hair and eyes.
• You have a large number of moles, or moles of unusual size or shape.
• You have a family history of skin cancer or a personal history of blistering sunburn.
• You spend a lot of time working or playing outdoors.
• You live closer to the equator, at a higher altitude, or in any place that gets intense, year-round sunshine.
• You received therapeutic radiation treatments for adolescent acne.

Two other common types of skin growths are moles and keratoses.

Basal and squamous cell cancers can vary widely in appearance. Malignant melanoma is usually signaled by a change in the size, shape, or color of an existing mole, or as a new growth on normal skin. Watch for the “ABCDE” warning signs of melanoma:

• Asymmetry—a growth with unmatched halves
• Border irregularity—ragged or blurred edges
• Color—a mottled appearance, with shades of tan, brown, and black, sometimes mixed with red, white, or blue
• Diameter—a growth more than 6 millimeters across (about the size of a pencil eraser), or any unusual increase in size.
• Evolution- a growth that shows subtle changes in size, shape or color over time.

If all these variables sound confusing, the most important thing to remember is this: Get to know your skin and examine it regularly, from the top of your head to the soles of your feet. (Don’t forget your back.) If you notice any unusual changes on any part of your body, have a doctor check it out.

Skin cancer is diagnosed by removing all or part of the growth and examining its cells under a microscope. It can be treated by a number of methods, depending on the type of cancer, its stage of growth, and its location on your body. Small skin cancers can often be excised quickly and easily in our office.

Most skin cancers are removed surgically, by a plastic surgeon or a dermatologist. If the cancer is small, the procedure can be done quickly and easily, in an outpatient facility or the physician’s office with local anesthesia. The procedure may be a simple excision, which leaves a small thin scar, or ED&C (electrodesiccation and curettage) may be performed. In this procedure the cancer is scraped out with an electric current to control bleeding and kill any remaining cancer cells. This leaves a slightly larger scar. In either case, the risks accompanying surgery are low.

If the cancer is large, however, or if it has spread to the lymph glands or elsewhere in the body, major surgery may be required. Other possible treatments for skin cancer include cryosurgery (freezing the cancer cells), radiation therapy (using x-rays), topical chemotherapy (anti-cancer drugs applied to the skin), and Mohs surgery, a special procedure in which the cancer is shaved off one layer at a time. Mohs surgery is performed only by specially trained physicians and often requires a reconstructive procedure as follow-up.

Please see the video below for more information on Mohs Surgery, or visit our Mohs Surgery page