What kinds of treatments are available for basal cell carcinoma?
Depending upon the size, depth, and location of basal skin carcinoma, it can be treated by topical medications, curettage and electrodessication, surgery, or radiation therapy. It’s important to learn as much as you can about your treatment options and to make the decision that’s right for you. Common topical medications for the treatment of superficial basal cell carcinoma include imiquimod and 5-FU. Using curettage and electrodessication, the physician scrapes off the growth and dries up the tumor site with an electrocautery needle. Surgical approaches include excisional surgery, during which a surgeon removes the tumor along with a margin of normal skin as a safety margin. The pathologist examines the removed tissue to assure all cancer cells are gone. Another surgical approach is micrographic surgery, during which a physician removes the visible tumor and then removes surrounding skin one layer at a time. Each layer is checked under a microscope for signs of cancer until the physic
