Radiation Therapy Should Be Considered for Treating Non-melanoma Skin Cancers
By Kishore K. Dass, MD
Skin cancer is the most common
type of cancer occurring in men
and women in the United States.
According to the National Cancer
Institute, more than 700,000 Americans
develop skin cancer annually, with 40
to 50 percent of Americans developing
skin cancer at least once in their lifetimes.
Sixty-fi ve percent of all non-melanoma
skin cancers are basal cell carcinomas, and
approximately 30 percent are squamous
cell carcinomas.
Although basal cell and squamous cell
skin cancers differ, treatments are similar.
Radiation therapy -- a lesser-known, yet
quite successful therapy -- is one of several
therapeutic approaches.
Advanced radiation therapy technology
has led to improved cure rates and
decreased side effects. Many carcinomas
of the skin may be cured with superfi cial
external radiation beams. These beams use
shallow depth penetration that prevents
unnecessary exposure to normal tissue
beneath the skin.
Radiation therapy is relatively painless,
well-tolerated and has a long-term cure
rate of 90 to 95 percent, making it the
treatment of choice for skin cancer located
in the central face, ear, forehead, scalp,
eyelids, tip of the nose or edges of the
lips. It can also be indicated after initial
surgery if there are positive margins
located at the edge of excised tissue.
Please call The Regional Cancer
Center at Wellington at Kishore K. Dass, MD,
is a board-certified
radiation oncologist.
He has been the
Medical Director of
The Regional Cancer
Center at Wellington
since 1993.
When selecting the optimum
treatment modality, patients should
consider cosmetic effects, comfort, time
and cost of treatment, as well as the
probability of a cure. The use of ionizing
radiation by preference supposes
the expectation of high probability
of eradicating the lesion, preserving
normal tissue with little or no blemish
and achieving all this without trauma
and with minimal time and cost to the
patient. It is very important to consider all
treatment options and discuss them with
your physician before deciding which one
is right for you.
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Wellington Regional Medical Center, 10101 Forest Hill Blvd. Wellington, FL 33414 (561) 798-8500 |
