When detected early, melanoma is one of the most treatable forms of cancer. Many patients do not have to undergo years of radiation and chemotherapy. They often benefit from shorter rounds of medical care that effectively eliminates their cancerous growths.
As you prepare to receive this level of care yourself, you could wonder what lies in store for you in the coming weeks. When it comes to skin cancer treatment in San Antonio area, patients can anticipate receiving any number of remedies.
Surgical Removal
Depending on where the cancerous growth is located, you could have it surgically removed. Many times, removing the growth through surgery eliminates it permanently from the affected area. It also prevents it from coming back.
When patients undergo surgery as a form of skin cancer treatment in San Antonio, doctors many times will perform it as an outpatient procedure. You will receive a topical anesthetic to numb any sensation. The growth is then cut out or surgically removed from the area.
Radiation Therapy
Even if the cancer is surgically removed, doctors want to make sure that it will not come back. To prevent new cancer cells from forming, your doctor will recommend that you undergo radiation therapy.
Radiation therapy targets the affected area with radioactive light and waves. It halts the growth of cancerous cells and prevents new growths from forming.
Radiation therapy can cause you to lose some or all of your hair depending on how long you undergo the treatment. Still, you benefit from having the cancer cells stopped in their tracks.
Skin cancer is a highly treatable illness from which patients have a good chance of recovery. Doctors today use a variety of forms of treatment to help patients overcome this disease. The most common choices of treatment involve radiation therapy and surgery to eliminate growths and cancer cells.
