Skin Cancers

SkinCancerAwareness.com is a website created by Dr. Hendricks to provide more information about skin cancer and available treatments.

Actinic Keratoses (AKs)

About

ACTINIC KERATOSES (AKs)

Actinic keratoses (AKs),

CAUSES

AKs

RISK FACTORS

SYMPTOMS

DIAGNOSIS

*SOURCE:

American Academy of Dermatology

Treatment

TREATMENT

Cryosurgery
This is the most common treatment for AKs. It involves freezing skin cells with liquid nitrogen to treat them and reduce the AK.
Photodynamic therapy
This treatment consists of 2 phases. First, a chemical is applied to the skin. This chemical is allowed to incubate for several hours. Then, the treated area is exposed to a special light that activates the chemical to cause reduction of potentially dangerous cells. This is best when there are multiple AKs on one body site (like the face, scalp, or hands and arms).
Curettage
A procedure that treats AKs by cutting or scraping (curettage) that can be combined with heat (electrosurgery) to treat diseased skin cells.
Chemical peel
A chemical solution is applied to the skin to penetrate the skin deeply to treat an AK.
Chemotherapy for the skin
5-fluorouracil is a cancer-fighting cream that you apply to the AK. The skin will become raw and irritated. As it heals, healthy skin appears. Another treatment such as cryotherapy may be necessary to treat thick AKs.
Immunotherapy for the skin
Imiquimod cream and ingenolmebutate gel are medications that work with the body's immune system to help destroy AKs.
NSAID (NON-STEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUG) for the skin
Diclofenac sodium gel is a medication that you apply to your skin and is recommended for skin with many AKs. It is an anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer treatment that fades AKs over a 30-day period.Additional in-office treatments may be needed following treatment with some of these topical prescriptions.
Research and development of other treatments for AKs is ongoing. No one therapy works on all AKs or in all individuals.

*SOURCE:

American Academy of Dermatology

Dysplastic Nevus/Atypical Mole

About

DYSPLASTIC NEVUS/ATYPICAL MOLE

RISK FACTORS

*SOURCE:

American Academy of Dermatology

Treatment

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA

About

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA

RISK FACTORS

DIAGNOSIS

*SOURCE:

American Academy of Dermatology

Treatment

TREATMENT

When detected early and treated properly, the prognosis for BCC is excellent. Treatment cures most BCCs.

Treatment for BCC involves having one or more of the following.

There are many effective treatments. A dermatologist selects treatment after considering the following: the type of BCC, where it appears on the body, a patient's overall health. After considering this, one or a combination of the following treatment options may be recommended.

Surgical treatment: Surgical removal can be done in a dermatologist's office under local anesthesia using one of the following techniques. A small amount of normal skin is also removed,as skin cancer cells can microscopically involve normal-looking skin.

Excision: The lesion and a small amount of normal-looking skin (margins) surrounding the skin cancer are cut. What is removed is sent, like the initial biopsy, to a pathologist for microscopic examination to ensure all the margins are clear of the skin cancer. Stitches are used for wound closure.
Mohs surgery: A dermatologist who has completed additional training in Mohs surgery performs this procedure. The skin cancer and a much smaller margin of normal skin areremoved and checked immediately in the office. If any of the margins are still involved in the skin cancer, that specific area of involved skin is taken and rechecked. This occurs until all margins are clear. Once this is achieved, the surgeon may use different techniques, including flaps or grafts, to close the skin together.
Curettage and electrodesiccation: This surgical procedure may be used to treat shallow basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers. It involves scraping the tumor with a curette (a circular blade), followed by gentle cauterization (burning) of the site. This scraping and cauterizing process is typically repeated threetimes. The wound may heal without stitches.

Radiation therapy: Radiation may be used to treat older adults who have a large skin cancer, skin cancers that cover a large area, or a skin cancer that is difficult to surgically treat. Radiation therapy gradually reduces the cancer cells through repeated exposure to radiation. A patient may receive 15 to 30 treatments. Many years after a person is exposed to radiation, there is a risk of new skin cancers developing in the treated skin.
Topical Immuno- or chemotherapy: There are creams that a patient applies to the skin as directed by the dermatologist that can help the body's own immune system fight cancer, or intentionally damage the dangerous cancer cells.
Pills: In the very rare incidence that BCC spreads to other parts of the body, or in the case of a BCC that has become very large and is not amenable to traditional surgery or radiation, an oral medication may be an option.

*SOURCE:

American Academy of Dermatology

Malignant Melanoma

About

TREATMENT

treatment of AKs.

*SOURCE:

American Academy of Dermatology

Treatment

SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA

About

SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA

RISK FACTORS

DIAGNOSIS

PREVENTION

*SOURCE:

American Academy of Dermatology

Treatment

Skin Cancers

Actinic Keratoses (AKs)

ACTINIC KERATOSES (AKs)

CAUSES

RISK FACTORS

SYMPTOMS

DIAGNOSIS

*SOURCE:

Dysplastic Nevus/Atypical Mole

DYSPLASTIC NEVUS/ATYPICAL MOLE

RISK FACTORS

*SOURCE:

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA

RISK FACTORS

DIAGNOSIS

*SOURCE:

Malignant Melanoma

TREATMENT

*SOURCE:

SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA

SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA

RISK FACTORS

DIAGNOSIS

PREVENTION

*SOURCE:

Saving Lives

Address

Office Hours