Handling is done depending on the type and stage of skin cancer. The main treatment for skin cancer is surgery to remove cancer cells, especially in the type of melanoma.
In melanoma skin cancer, treatment is adjusted to the stage of cancer. The general description of treatment for each stage of cancer is as follows:
1. Stage 1 and 2 melanoma can be treated by surgery to remove cancerous tissue and healthy skin around the tissue. This surgery is known as excision surgery. If the excision surgery process is expected to leave a wide scar, this procedure can be combined with skin grafting. Excision surgery has quite good success in patients with stage 1 and 2 melanoma cancer, which is around 80-90 percent. After surgery, the patient will be monitored intensively by the relevant health worker.
2. Stage 3 melanoma can be treated by surgical excision of cancerous tissue. To keep the cancer from spreading to other organs, lymph node biopsy can be performed. If the lymph node biopsy results show the cancer has spread to the gland, then lymph node removal surgery can be performed to prevent further spread of cancer.
3. Stage 4 melanoma occurs when cancerous tissue has spread to other organs (metastasis). The purpose of stage 4 cancer treatment is no longer to kill cancer cells, but to prolong the patient's life expectancy, slow down cancer growth, and reduce symptoms that arise. Treatment includes radiotherapy or immunotherapy.
In non-melanoma skin cancer, the treatment can be done through the following methods:
1. Excision surgery combined with skin grafts. The goal is to remove cancer cells and prevent them from spreading.
2. Mohs micrographic surgery (Mohs micrographic surgery / MMS). This method is used if cancer cells are feared to have spread or occur in a very important part of the skin, such as in the eye or nose area. In MMS surgery, the edge of the cancer tissue is examined microscopically to make sure all the cancer cells have been completely wasted. If the cancer tissue is still present, surgery is done again.
3. Curettage. This method of treatment is applied to very small non-melanoma cancers. Here, the doctor will make the cancer tissue mengerokan until the remaining healthy tissue, then burn (cauterization). The curettage method can be performed several times to make sure there are no cancer cells left.
4. Cryotherapy. This method of cancer treatment is done by using cold temperatures to turn off cancer cells at an early stage. In cryotherapy, patients will be given liquid nitrogen to freeze cancer tissue which causes the formation of ulceration in the area. After a few weeks, the sores that contain cancerous tissue will then dislodge themselves.
5. Anticancer cream. Anticancer creams are used for the treatment of cancerous tissue that is only found in the upper layers of the skin, such as basal cell cancer or Bowen's disease. There are two types of anti-cancer creams, namely:
- Chemotherapy cream
- Immune system stimulating cream
6. Photodynamic therapy. This therapy is used to treat basal cell cancer, Bowen's disease, and acitinic keratose. This therapy uses certain creams to make the cancer skin more sensitive to light. After the cream is used, the skin is illuminated with strong intensity light to kill cancer cells.
7. Radiotherapy. Namely treatment through the radiation method. Radiotherapy is done if surgery cannot be done or the cancer has spread widely.
8. Electrochemotherapy. This is a more complicated, but more effective chemotherapy method. Electrocemotherapy is applied if the methods of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy do not work effectively in removing cancer. Electrocemotherapy is done by giving chemotherapy to patients intravenously, which is followed by giving an electric shock using electrodes to the cancer tissue. Electricity will make it easier for chemotherapy drugs to enter cancer cells so that cancer cells become more easily damaged. This method is usually carried out using total anesthesia to patients, although in some cases, patients are only given local anesthesia. The electrocemotherapy procedure usually lasts for several hours and the results can be seen in six weeks.