Dr. Ip has helped many patients with diagnosing and treating skin cancer. Although a skin cancer diagnosis is not something people like to hear, early diagnosis is absolutely key to improving survival rates. This is because skin cancer is much easier to fully treat in its early stages.
If skin cancer is not caught early, it is more likely that the tumor has grown and metastasized to other parts of the body, the treatment becomes more complicated and survival rates can decrease dramatically.
To catch skin cancer early, we encourage all of our patients to come in for an annual exam, where we carefully inspect your skin for early signs of skin cancer. Early diagnosis is key to successful treatment of cancers like basal cell carcinoma, melanoma, and squamous cell carcinoma.
Skin cancer surgery, as the name of the procedure suggests, removes areas with skin cancer in order to preserve the health of the individual.
Anyone who has been diagnosed with skin cancer should take their diagnosis seriously and work with an expert to make sure that they are being given the highest-quality care to treat their cancer.
When caught early, skin cancer surgery can cure the cancer completely and stop it from spreading. This is the ideal scenario, though other people with more advanced skin cancer can still benefit from this type of procedure.
There are several options for addressing skin cancer, with the best course of action depending on the type of cancer you’ve been diagnosed with and how advanced it has become.
In many cases, the best way to ensure the destruction of the skin cancer tumor is to surgically remove it. This is a very nuanced process that requires careful assessment of the tumor size and shape and ensuring that the tumor has been completely removed. In general, skin cancer excisions are performed as an office procedure under local anesthesia.
Prior to your procedure, Dr. Ip will take a thorough medical history including previous surgeries, joint replacements, cardiac risk factors. She will also discuss pre and post-treatment expectations with you. In general, there is no pain associated with these procedures and mild discomfort after surgery can be alleviated with Tylenol.
You will leave the office on the day of the surgery with stitches that will need to be removed at a later date (usually 10 -14 days later). Depending on the location of your skin cancer, activities restrictions may be necessary to better promote healing.
Recovering from skin cancer surgery is similar to the recovery process and timeframe as other surgical excisions.
Depending on the side of your cancerous growth, and how many you have, your recovery time can vary. Some may return to normal activity within a few days, while others may need a longer time for the area to heal.
When caught early, skin cancer can be cured by skin cancer surgery. In terms of results, nothing is better than completely removing skin cancer!
For those with more advanced stages of skin cancer, they may still experience some scarring and malformation across their skin if a large amount of tissue was removed during the procedure in order to completely contain the cancer.
If you’ve noticed any new spots or moles that seemed to appear out of nowhere, it’s important to visit a board-certified dermatologist who can make an accurate diagnosis. Dr. Ip recommends skin cancer surgery in all cases where skin cancer has been caught early, prior to it spreading to other organs within the body.
Skin cancer is highly treatable, and it can be completely cured through skin cancer surgery. Though every individual is different, Dr. Ip highly recommends this procedure in people diagnosed with skin cancer due to its ability to cure the condition.
Leave your skincare to the experts. To learn more about how skin cancer surgery can treat or cure skin cancer, make sure you work with a board-certified dermatologist. If you would like to experience premier dermatological care to achieve beautiful and healthy skin, please schedule your appointment with Dr. Ip today.