Cosmetic Medicine by Dr Eddie Roos

COSMETIC MEDICINE
SKIN CANCER
MANAGEMENT
Don’t take risks with skin cancer! Research shows that skin cancer is the
most common cancer in Australia and the one most people will develop
in their lifetime.
As with many other cancers, screening can be the fi rst line of defence against
skin cancer, identifying abnormal skin tissue before a person has any symptoms.
Regular exams of the skin by both the individual and their doctor increase the
chances of detecting skin cancer early on, therefore providing an improved
chance of survival.
Most melanomas can be seen by the naked eye, typically growing on the
surface of the skin before spreading to the dermis. Therefore, self-checking skin
each month can help identify changes to be reported to the doctor.
When skin is identifi ed as abnormal, a biopsy may be performed. The
doctor will remove as much of the suspicious tissue as possible with a local
excision. The tissue will then be inspected beneath a microscope to check for
cancerous cells.
Surgery may be used in the management of skin cancers. Once the cancer
has been surgically excised, pathological examination will determine whether all
cancerous cells have been removed. If the skin cancer is large, the neighbouring
skin may be moved to cover the wound, reducing the scarring and providing a
better tone and colour match than a skin graft.
Other techniques may be adopted to manage pre-cancerous conditions
such as actinic keratoses, or non-melanoma skin cancers such as basal cell
carninomas. Cryotherapy, for example, can be used to freeze tumour cells. Most
commonly used for the treatment of actinic keratoses, a cryogen is applied to
the growths in order to freeze them. The growths then form a dry crust that
falls off within three weeks. Basal cell carcinomas may also be treated with
electrosurgery. Once the top of the lesion has been removed, the underlying cells
and bleeding points are cauterised with an electrocautery needle. A curette is
then used to remove the base of the lesion. Photodynamic therapy is also often
used to treat large area actinic keratosis lesions or non-melanoma skin cancers
such as basal cell carcinomas.
Cosmetic Elegance Clinic has an independent Skin Cancer Clinic which offers
comprehensive, state of the art services. These include skin cancer imaging
and mole scanning, photodynamic therapy (PDT), laser and IPL treatment,
cryotherapy and surgical excision.
DR EDDIE ROOS WWW.COSMETICELEGANCE.COM.AU // 21