Skin cancer is one of the most conspicuous forms of cancer. Its symptoms can be misconstrued as a form of rash or allergy. This is the reason why people often miss these signs till very late and, by then, cancer has spread widely in the body and is no longer treatable. However, with the evolution of medical technology, many forms of skin cancer at various stages deemed incurable are now being treated with increasing frequency. Thus, skin cancer treatment in Toowoomba has also become increasingly confluent with patients availing of the latest developments in cancer-related treatments. However, before we find out about the treatments, let us look a little more into the various forms of skin cancer:
Two Main Categories of Skin Cancer to be Treated are:
Keratinocyte carcinoma: The most common forms of cancer are basal and squamous cell skin cancers. They usually develop on areas of your body that are most exposed to the sun, like the head and neck. They are generally not life-threatening, but if left untreated, they can spread to other parts of your body.
Melanoma: This type of cancer arises from the cells that impart skin called melanocytes. In men, these develop mostly in the chest and back. On the other hand, women, who are more likely to develop on the legs are responsible for the majority of cancer-related deaths.
Apart from these broad classifications, there are also other types:
- Actinic Carcinoma: Considered a form of precancer, this carcinoma appears as red patches and develops into squamous cell carcinoma if left untreated.
- Basal cell Carcinoma: These account for nearly 90% of all cancer cases and are slow-growing masses that most often show up on the head and neck.
- Squamous cell carcinoma: Develops on the outer layer of your skin and appears as red scaly lesions.
Treatments:
With the evolution of technology, various forms of cancer treatment have been developed and cater to the treatment of various forms of skin cancer at various stages. Most cases of skin cancer are treated at a dermatologist’s office or outpatient surgery. However, more aggressive forms may form tumours and require extensive treatments such as surgery. The most common treatments can be classified as:
- Surgery: This is highly regular with basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. Aggressive forms require more extensive surgeries to remove tumours.
- Topical treatments: These nonsurgical forms include photodynamic therapy, topical chemotherapy, and immune response modifiers.
- Chemotherapy: This anticancer treatment is meant to stop or slow the spread of rapidly dividing tumour cells
- Radiation therapy: Radiation treatments are done post-surgery to kill off the remaining cancer cells.
- Targeted therapy: Targeted therapy is meant to treat melanoma and some non-melanoma.
- Immunotherapy: Used to treat melanoma and Merkel cell carcinoma. They are designed to train the immune cells to identify and attack cancer cells.
At Drayton Medical, our services extend to Drayton, Cambooya, Westbrook, Wyreema, Greenmount, Nobby. All our treatments are cutting edge, with great attention to patient-specific treatments. Our medical professionals and service staff are equipped to handle most situations in as much detail as possible. Contact us now to avail yourself of our numerous affordable skin cancer treatment options.