May is Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month across the country, a time to boost your knowledge about the most common form of cancer, affecting over six million Americans every year.
Dermatologist and Mohs micrographic surgeon Jennifer A. Baron, MD, offers precise diagnostic and treatment services to patients at her San Jose, California, office. Mohs surgery has a very high success rate for basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, the most commonly occurring skin cancers.
When a skin cancer lesion occurs in high-visibility locations like your face or hands, it’s not just enough to eradicate the cancer; you want to minimize the impact of treatment, too. Mohs surgery minimizes the amount of healthy skin affected while completely removing cancerous tissue.
Instead of a typical biopsy procedure, where excised tissue is shipped to a medical laboratory for analysis, Mohs surgery removes thin layers of tissue for immediate microscopic analysis. The presence of any cancerous cells during this examination means another round of samples.
These continue within a single appointment until you have a cancer-free sample. Basal and squamous cell cancers don’t spread very fast, so eliminating these cancers at the lesion leads to the high success rates that make Mohs surgery the gold standard in skin cancer care.
Let’s take a look at why Mohs surgery rates so highly:
For some types of skin cancer, Mohs surgery has a success rate of about 95% in eliminating cancer, according to the American Society for Mohs Surgery. Real-time analysis helps to ensure that all signs of cancer are gone by the end of your appointment.
Excising cancers removes both the lesion and a large margin of healthy tissue in hopes of removing all cancerous cells. The Mohs difference is the amount of marginal tissue removed along with the lesion. Dr. Baron proceeds step by step until analysis confirms no cancer cells remain, creating smaller surgical wounds with as little cosmetic impact as possible.
You know that on the day of your Mohs procedure, the area of your lesion is clear of cancer. There’s no waiting for lab reports to follow, days or weeks after your surgery.
Because Dr. Baron examines the lesion and surrounding skin until all cancer cells are gone, the risk of cancer returning is low. Mohs surgery provides you with peace of mind.
Since tissue samples are analyzed as they’re gathered, there’s no need to return for follow-up. The high cure rate of Mohs means there’s less chance of recurrence. Larger lesions may need additional appointments to repair the wound.
While Mohs surgery isn’t the best way to treat all skin cancers, it’s the ideal solution for the skin cancers that occur most frequently. It’s fine for patients with recurring cancers, and it’s the procedure you want when appearance and precision are important.
Learn more in consultation with Dr. Baron and her team. Call or click to book your appointment today.
