Surgical Associates of Corpus Christi
Skin Cancer
Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer. 20% of Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime.
Skin cancer is an abnormal growth of skin cells usually developing on skin exposed to the sun/ ultraviolet radiation.
Regular, daily use of SPF 15 or higher sunscreen reduces the risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma by 40%
The common types of skin cancer include:
- Basal Cell Carcinoma
- Squamous Cell Carcinoma
- Melanoma
The treatment of a basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma is complete excision of the cancer with 4 to 6 mm of normal surrounding skin.
The treatment of a melanoma includes the wide excision of the tumor and may include the removal of a lymph node(s) that drain that portion of the body. The removal of the first node or nodes that drain the area of the cancer with the aid of a dye is referred to as a sentinel node biopsy.
