Basal Cell Carcinoma
Basal Cell Carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer that is out there. It is 
also the least life threatening, this is because since they are usually on the skin they are very detectable. This form of skin cancer almost never spreads or kills, the only reason it is still considered malignant is because it can cause severe destruction and disfigurement. Statistics say that every 3 out of 10 white people will get basal cancer within their lifetime. Also in 80% of those cases the basal cancer cells are located on the head, and neck.
Even though there are 12 types of Basal Cell Carcinoma it is easier to group them in three bigger categories. These categories are based on location of the cancer, and the difficulty of treatment. Here are the three different groups of Basal Cell Carcinoma.
- Superficial Basal Cell Carcinoma are very treatable with topical chemotherapy like Aldara, or Fluorouracil. This is the only type of Basal cell cancer that can be treated using topical chemotherapy.
- Infiltrative Basal Cell Carcinoma is more difficult to treat with soncervative treatment methods like electrodessiccaton, and currettage, or with currettage alone.
- Nodular Pasal cell cancer is the most common group of skin cancer, it is almost always on the neck or head. This is because it is almost always due to sun radiation.
Although there are these groups it is not uncommon to find more then one group of basal cell carcinoma in the same tumor.
There are many different forms of treatment for Basal Cell Carcinoma, depending on which group you have and how large it is will determine which treatment you will recieve for the skin cancer. Here is a list of the different kinds of treatment.
Standard Surgical Excision with either a parafin embedded fixed tissue pathology, or a frozen section histology. This is the preferred method of removal for most BCC's. The rate of being cured is determined by how big the skin cancer is, and how far the doctor has to go to get all the cancer cells. The thinner the skin is that is tumor free determines the likeliness of the cancer coming back. This is even more critical when performing it on the face, eyelids and other parts of the area that don't have much skin.
Mohs Surgery is an outpatient procedure where the tumor is surgically removed and is then examined under a microscope. The base and the edges are viewed to determine whether all the cancer cells were removed, and then the site is surgically repaired. This method has a 97% to 99.7% cure rate with some individuals, and is considered the highest cure rate of all the other treatments.
Chemotherapy is used to help get rid of cancer cells of a variety different types. For Basal Cell Carcinoma it is used in cream form, and is mixed with 5% Imiquimod cream with the topical treatment. It is applied five times a week for 6 weeks and is said to have a 70-90% success rate. It was approved by the FDA for treatment of superficial Basal Cell Carcinoma.
Immunotherapy research has suggested that treatment of Euphorbia Peplus (A common weed) to BCC can be effective. It is still being tested, but a Australian biopharmaceutical company Peplin is developing at topical cream to help treat BCC.
Radiation therapy is used to cure all forms of BCC, it is usually used in older patients that are not eligible for surgery, or it if the surgery will be disfiguring or difficult to reconstruct. Radiation treatment usually takes a few as 5 treatments and as many as 25. Cure rate for radiation treatments are 95% for small tumors, and 80% for large ones. If the radiation doesn't cure the tumor surgery will be necessary because more radiation could damage healthy tissue, or the tumor my become resistant to radiation.
Photodynamic Therapy is a new treatment that uses photo-sensitizers on the target area. When these molecules are activated by light, they become toxic, when they do 
that they destroy the target cells. This treatment is also used in other forms of skin cancer types.
Cryosurgery is an old method of treatment for BCC. When it is administered correctly with a temperature probe, and cryotherapy instruments, it has a very good cure rate. The only side effects is that it has to be administered correctly and the recovery time for this type of treatment is a lot longer then other treatments. There are few physicians that still use this method and when they do it's only to select patients.
Electrodessication and Curettage or commonly referred to as EDC is done by using a round knife, or curette to scrape away the soft cancer. The remaining skin is then burned with an electric current. The burning of the skin farther softens the skin and the procedure is done again, this can be done between 3 to 5 times. The cure rate for this procedure depends on the size of the size and type of the tumor.
These are the ways that you can treat Basal Cell Carcinoma, if you feel that you may have this type of skin cancer you should see your doctor as soon as you can so that they can treat the tumor. This quick treatment will insure that it does not spread or the tumor gets bigger. The next page will talk about another form of skin cancer called Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Click the link below to learn more about this form of skin cancer.
Squamous Cell Carcinoma >
wow this is kinda scaryy