Skin Cancer Specialist

What are the different types of skin cancer?

Skin cancer develops from long-term exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. There are three primary types of skin cancer, each with its own symptoms:

Basal cell carcinoma 

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer. It may appear as raised pink or white bumps, bumps resembling moles, a sore that keeps healing and reopening, or a flat, scaly scar.

Squamous cell carcinoma 

The second most common type of skin cancer is squamous cell carcinoma. It often begins as dry, scaly, flesh-colored lesions called actinic keratoses. These rough-feeling lesions are benign at first but progress to become cancer.

Melanoma

Melanoma is the least common and deadliest type of skin cancer because it quickly spreads and becomes hard to treat. This type of cancer often begins in an existing mole, but you may see a new brown or black lesion that resembles a mole.

How do dermatologists treat skin cancer?

The team at West Derm Center recommends annual skin screening to identify and treat potential problems at an early stage. When a mole or lesion is suspicious for skin cancer, it’s removed and the tissues are examined to see if they contain cancer cells.

In many cases, this involves sending the tissue sample to a lab and anxiously waiting for days to learn the results. But that’s not what happens at West Derm Center because they specialize in Mohs surgery.

What is Mohs surgery?

Mohs is an advanced surgical technique that has the highest cure rate for all types of skin cancer. The procedure is done in the office, where your West Derm Center surgeon removes all the cancerous cells, preserving the healthy tissues surrounding the tumor. The Mohs technique allows your doctor to remove all the cancer and tell you the results of the biopsy while you wait. 

Your doctor removes the visible tumor along with a small margin of tissue around it, carefully mapping the tumor so it can be reoriented to its exact location before it was removed. Then your doctor examines the tissue under a microscope.

If the margins are free of cancer cells, your procedure is finished. If cancer cells remain in the margin, the mapping allows your doctor to identify where that cell was located on your body and precisely remove another small piece of tissue. Then that tissue is examined and the process continues until no cancer cells remain.

Depending on the type of cancer and your overall risk factors, your doctor may recommend radiation after your Mohs surgery to help prevent cancer recurrence.

If you’re worried about a mole or another lesion on your skin, or you’d like a full skin evaluation, click the online booking feature or call one of the West Derm Center offices today.