Treatment of low-risk basal cell carcinoma
What choices will I have?
Your healthcare professionals should explain the range of treatments available for low-risk BCC. They should cover possible benefits and risks related to your condition and personal circumstances.
You have the right to be involved in discussions and make informed decisions about your treatment and care. You should be given relevant information that reflects any religious, ethnic, or cultural needs you have and takes into account whether you have any physical or learning disability, sight or hearing problem, or language difficulties. All treatment and care should be given with your informed consent.
What does treatment involve?
Once the diagnosis of low-risk BCC has been confirmed, treatment is usually relatively simple and involves the removal or destruction of the cancer. Surgery is often used to treat low-risk BCCs by cutting out the cancerous cells, as well as some surrounding healthy tissue (to ensure that no cancerous cells remain).
Other treatments include ointments, drugs that become active when exposed to light (photodynamic therapy) and techniques that work by ‘burning’ or ‘freezing’ the cancer cells. Many BCCs that appear on the trunk (not on the head, neck and limbs) can be treated in this way.
Who will do the surgery if I need it?
Surgery to remove low-risk BCCs can often be performed by a healthcare professional with additional skills in skin cancer who is working in the community (such as in GP surgeries or local community hospitals/treatment centres rather than in a general hospital). This will usually be a GP with a special interest and training in this area. Sometimes skin specialists (dermatologists) or members of their team will offer services to manage low risk BCCs in the community too.
What choices will I have?
Your healthcare professionals should explain the range of treatments available for low-risk BCC. They should cover possible benefits and risks related to your condition and personal circumstances.
You have the right to be involved in discussions and make informed decisions about your treatment and care. You should be given relevant information that reflects any religious, ethnic, or cultural needs you have and takes into account whether you have any physical or learning disability, sight or hearing problem, or language difficulties. All treatment and care should be given with your informed consent.
What does treatment involve?
Once the diagnosis of low-risk BCC has been confirmed, treatment is usually relatively simple and involves the removal or destruction of the cancer. Surgery is often used to treat low-risk BCCs by cutting out the cancerous cells, as well as some surrounding healthy tissue (to ensure that no cancerous cells remain).
Other treatments include ointments, drugs that become active when exposed to light (photodynamic therapy) and techniques that work by ‘burning’ or ‘freezing’ the cancer cells. Many BCCs that appear on the trunk (not on the head, neck and limbs) can be treated in this way.
Who will do the surgery if I need it?
Surgery to remove low-risk BCCs can often be performed by a healthcare professional with additional skills in skin cancer who is working in the community (such as in GP surgeries or local community hospitals/treatment centres rather than in a general hospital). This will usually be a GP with a special interest and training in this area. Sometimes skin specialists (dermatologists) or members of their team will offer services to manage low risk BCCs in the community too.
Posted in: Oncology and Cancer Articles
0 comments:
Post a Comment