By Antin. When diagnosis of skin cancer has been made, the doctor and patient will discuss the treatment. There are several types of standard treatment used in treating skin cancer:

Radiation therapy Radiation therapy for skin cancer uses high focused x-rays to destroy the skin cancer cells. Radiation treatment cannot cure advanced skin cancer, but it can shrink the tumor. This treatment is used as a palliative therapy, for stage III and IV melanoma to relieve the symptoms and improve the life quality of the patient. Also, as an adjuvant treatment that is administrated after the surgery was performed in order to destroy the remaining skin cancer cells.

Chemotherapy This is a systemic treatment that can affect cells throughout the entire body. Chemotherapy uses drugs that either stop the abnormal growth and dividing process of the cancerous cells or kills the cancer cells. For skin cancer, this treatment can be administrated as an adjuvant treatment or in combination with other types of cancer treatment.

Biological therapy (biotherapy or immunotherapy) A type of treatment that mostly used as an adjuvant therapy after the skin cancer was removed through surgery. This therapy is using body substances or artificial substances to boost, direct, or restore the immune system of the patient to fight against cancer.

Photodynamic therapy It is a skin cancer treatment that uses a certain drug that is absorbed by the cancer cells and a special type of laser light to then kill the cancer cells which absorbed the drug.


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