How Dangerous is Basal Cell Carcinoma Skin Cancer?

If you are facing squamous or basal cell carcinoma in Cape Coral, Florida it’s natural to be nervous, but there’s no need for fear: some of the best skin cancer specialists in the world are found in the Southern Florida, and basal cll non-melanoma skin cancer is highly treatable and survivable. For a bit of perspective, melanoma, the more aggressive type of skin cancer, accounts for about 5% of skin cancer cases but leads to more than 75% of skin cancer deaths.

And you are not alone in your skin cancer diagnosis, either: one in four people will develop a non-melanoma carcinoma at some point in life (some people get them many times over) so nearly 50,000 Cape Coral resident are likely to deal with skin cancer at some point.

However, non-melanoma skin cancers are only highly treatable and such a serious threat if patients pursue treatment as fast as possible can once the cancer has been identified.

Squamous and Basal Cell Carcinoma Pictures and Common Symptoms

If you look on the internet for images of skin cancer, specifically for pictures of basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma, you will see multiple different types of skin cancer symptom images. And that may lead to an issue, because if the suspect spot you see on your own skin doesn’t match the skin cancer photos you see, you may come to the wrong conclusion that you don’t have skin cancer when in fact you do.

Non-melanoma skin cancer symptoms can be sores that refuse to heal, yellow and flaky patches of skin, raised and shiny bumps, or irregularly shaped moles, especially those that recently appeared. But skin cancer presents itself in many other ways as well, such as red lesions, lumps that easily bleed when scratched, and more. If you identify anything that might be a symptom of skin cancer, especially if you have a history of skin cancer in the family or if you have spent a lot of time in the sun, you need to get to a Cape Coral skin cancer doctor as soon as you can.

Basal and Squamous Cell Carcinoma Prognosis

With swift treatment after identification, the prognosis of squamous and basal cell carcinoma is excellent; you should expect a near 100% survival rate with these non-melanoma skin cancers, and often with only a single course of treatment in the form or skin cancer removal without the need for follow-up intervention or medications.

But non-melanoma skin cancer can be dangerous (and even deadly) if you do not seek treatment promptly. You and your Cape Coral skin cancer specialist’s best tool in the fight against skin cancer is speed: the faster you move to get the best treatment for skin cancer, the more chance you will be fully cured.

Noninvasive Skin Cancer Treatment in Cape Coral, FL

Skin cancer doctors in Cape Coral Florida have multiple treatment options they can offer. There is standard excisional surgery, curettage surgery with electrodesiccation, cryosurgery for skin cancer, and more. But the two non-melanoma skin cancer treatment treatments with the best cure rate for first time interventions (not follow-up treatment for a carcinoma already treated that has grown back, that is) are Mohs surgery and Superficial Radio Therapy, often called SRT.

In Cape Coral, FL Mohs surgery and SRT both achieve a heartening 98% cure rate and both are good options for many patients, but Mohs surgery is not an option for some people with skin cancer, such as patients who also have blood clotting issues or do not respond well to pain medications. For those patienst, SRT is a great noninvasive skin cancer treatment option that can eliminate squamous and basal cell carcinomas using with doses of radiation precisely delivered with a device like the Sensus Healthcare FDA-cleared SRT-100.

SRT is almost entirely pain-free and is an outpatient procedure your doctor will perform in his or her office. It leads to no adverse side effects and with just a few of treatments grouped together over the course of a few days in most cases it can eradicate most squamous and basal cell carcinoma skin cancers.

Unlike can happen with other skin cancer treatments using radiation to treat internal tumors, SRT does not damage other cells in the body, so it will not increase the chance of other health issues later even as it cures your current skin cancer issue.

Ask your Cape Coral FL skin cancer doctor about SRT to learn more just as soon as you can.