Squamous and Basal Cell Carcinoma Pictures and Common Symptoms

If you search the internet for images of skin cancer, and specifically for pictures of basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma, you’re going to see multiple different types of skin cancer symptom. And that can be a bit of an issue, because if the unusual spot you noticed on your skin doesn’t match the skin cancer pictures you see, you might come to the false conclusion that you don’t have skin cancer.

Non-melanoma skin cancer symptoms include sores that stubbornly refuse to heal, yellowed and flaky patches of skin, raised shiny bumps, or irregularly shaped and colored moles, especially those that have recently appeared. But skin cancer presents itself in other ways as well, such as small lesions, lumps that easily bleed if scratched, and more. If you have identified anything that may be a symptom of skin cancer — and especially if you have a history of cancer in the family or if you yourself have spent much of your life in the sun — you need to get to a San Francisco skin cancer specialist as soon as you can.

How Dangerous is Basal Cell Carcinoma Skin Cancer?

If you are dealing with squamous or basal cell carcinoma in San Francisco, first take a deep breath and know that some of the best skin cancer doctors in the world are to be found in the Bay Area, and that non-melanoma skin cancer is highly treatable and survivable. For some perspective, melanoma, the much more aggressive type of skin cancer, accounts for just 5% of skin cancer cases but for more than 75% of skin cancer deaths. Add to that the fact that one in four people will develop a non-melanoma carcinoma at some point in their lives (many people get them many times) and you should be able to relax a bit.

But non-melanoma skin cancer is only highly treatable and not a serious threat if you pursue treatment as fast as you can once it has been identified.

Basal and Squamous Cell Carcinoma Prognosis

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

But even non-melanoma skin cancer can be dangerous and deadly if you don’t seek treatment promptly. You and your San Francisco skin cancer specialist’s best ally in the effort against skin cancer is time: the less of it you waste getting the best treatment for skin cancer, the more of it you’re assured later on after treatment.

Noninvasive Skin Cancer Treatment in San Francisco, CA

Skin cancer doctors in San Francisco have many treatment options at their disposal. There is standard excisions surgery, curettage with electrodesiccation, cryosurgery, and more. But the two non-melanoma skin cancer treatment options with the best cure rate for first time treatments (not follow-up procedures on a carcinoma already once worked on, e.g.) are Mohs surgery and Superficial Radio Therapy, usually called SRT.

In San Francisco Mohs surgery and SRT both achieve a 98% cure rate and both are fine options for many patients, but Mohs surgery is not viable for some people with skin cancer, such as those who also have clotting issues or don’t respond well to anesthetics and pain medications. For those people, SRT is a great noninvasive skin cancer treatment that can eliminate squamous and basal cell carcinomas using low doses of precisely delivered radiation with a device like the FDA-cleared SRT-100 from Sensus Healthcare.

SRT is a pain-free and outpatient procedure your doctor will perform in the office. It causes no adverse side effects and, with just a handful of treatments grouped together over the course of a few days, it can fully eradicate most squamous and basal cell carcinoma skin cancer.

SRT for Keloid Scar Treatment in San Francisco

SRT is also commonly used in the course of the best keloid treatment in San Francisco. Because keloid scars often stubbornly re-form after removal, your skin care specialists may recommend keloid removal surgery followed promptly by SRT treatment sessions that can destroy the cells responsible for producing the keloid scar but without causing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. SRT is a safe and effective tool to use in the treatment of keloid scars and can be the answer to the question many are asking in San Francisco: “How to get rid of a keloid?”