Skin Cancer Radiotherapy

Thousands of people develop cancer every year in the U.S., and a large percentage of them suffer from skin cancer. Along with lung and breast cancer, skin cancer is one of the most common types of the disease in the entire world. There are no exact reports on how many people are suffering from skin cancer in the United States, because this type of disease is not required to be reported to the different registries. However, those that are diagnosed with the disease can opt to receive skin cancer radiotherapy and other complementary treatments, such as surgery and chemotherapy.

Types of Skin Cancer

Skin cancer radiotherapy is used to treat different types of diseases that affect the skin tissue, and it can help disintegrate the abnormal cells. Certainly, some types are more common than others, but all of them can be treated with skin cancer radiotherapy. The different types of skin cancer are the following:

• Melanoma – extremely serious type of cancer because when it appears, it’s usually treated with radiotherapy when the cancer has already gone throughmetastasis. The starting point for melanoma is melanin, which is what produces the color of the skin.
• Basal cell carcinoma–not as serious as melanoma and it’s the most common type of skin cancer. Since the cancer usually starts in the external layer of the skin, it can be easily treated with skin cancer radiotherapy, which happens to be considerably effective in removing cancer cells.
• Squamous cell carcinoma–a little less common than the basal type, the squamous cell carcinoma usually starts in the actual skin and it can be treated with radiotherapy before it reaches other areas.

Signs & Symptoms of Skin Cancer

Skin cancer can be different than other types of cancer such as pancreatic cancer, in the sense that it usually shows signs and symptoms in its early stages. Whenever your body shows any skin cancer symptom, it’s important to see your doctor for proper removal and/or radiotherapy. If you happen to notice a mole that changes in size or color, it’s highly advisable that you get it examined by a professional physician or dermatologist. For example, basal cell carcinoma may present signs such as flat lumps or areas in the skin that are red or even raised. Moreover, it may appear as a sore that never finished healing; basically, any noticeable change on your skin is best to get examined.

How Radiotherapy Can Help

Skin cancer radiotherapy can be used to effectively remove any cancerous cells on the skin or even in the lymph nodes. External beam radiotherapy can help skin cancer patients by making the cancer disappear, or by helping them get rid of the constant pain. Since skin cancer radiotherapy treats the skin, it avoids affecting any internal organs; all doctors and radiotherapists will target the cancerous mall or abnormal cells directly with the skin cancer radiotherapy beam. Moreover, patients can receive skin cancer radiotherapy as a complement to other medical approaches, such as chemotherapy and surgery.