How Common is Basal Cell Carcinoma?
There are well over one million residents in San Jose, California at present, which means that there are more than a quarter of a million people in San Jose who will, art some point, develop basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma, these two types of non-melanoma skin cancer together being the most common types of cancer in America today. So considering 250,000 people in San Jose will almost surely get skin cancer at some point, the simple answer is that squamous and basal cell carcinomas (or SCCs and BCCs) are quite common.
But that does not mean non-melanoma skin cancer is to be taken lightly: ask any San Jose skin cancer specialist about that and you’ll surely receive an earful.
How Dangerous Is Basal Cell Carcinoma and Squamous Cell Carcinoma?
If caught early and if treatment commences as soon as skin cancer is positively identified, basal cell carcinoma treatment and squamous cell carcinoma treatment have a cure rate of well over 90% with most treatment options and as high as 98% cure success with a couple of the best treatment for skin cancer options. San Jose skin cancer doctors will all tell you the same thing, though: time is of the essence.
When caught fast enough, non-melanoma skin cancer is indeed an ailment that afflicts the skin alone. If the carcinomas are promptly removed, they won’t have time to grow down deeper into skin tissue and even enter bone, muscle, and organs, at which point even non-melanoma skin cancer can become serious or even fatal.
If you think you may be dealing with a basal or squamous cell carcinoma on your body or you spotted something on a loved one, get to a San Jose skin cancer doctor right away.
Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer Causes and Symptoms
Your genes play a slight role in susceptibility to non-melanoma skin cancer, as does the lightness or darkness of your skin, but everyone can get a carcinoma. The simplest way to explain the causes of non-melanoma skin cancer is just to blame the sun.
Too much exposure to UV light over the course of many years breaks down the DNA of some of your skin cells and in many cases can lead to the development of basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma — remember, a sun burn is not the same burn as you get from a hot iron or open flame, it is actually skin cells being damaged by ultraviolet light, which is a form of electromagnetic radiation. Thinking about sunlight as radiation may lead you to wear more sunblock and covering clothes now, but if the damage is done (and even a few bad sun burns in youth can contribute to skin cancer in adults) then you need to be worrying more about basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma symptoms than causes.
If you see irregular moles, sores that won’t heal and the cause of which is obscure, waxy patches that flake away, or raised bumps that have a sheen to them, all of these are possible signs of skin cancer and merit quick inspection by a San Jose dermatologist specializing in skin cancer.
Basal and Squamous Cell Carcinoma Removal in San Jose, CA
There are multiple treatment options for skin cancer treatment in San Jose, California, but two are generally considered the best skin cancer treatment by San Jose doctors: Mohs surgery and Superficial Radio Therapy.
Mohs surgery involves the excising (cutting out, e.g.) of the carcinoma plus removal of minimal layers of health tissue to ensure complete removal followed by immediate testing of the samples while the patient waits. Once complete removal of skin cancer is confirmed, the procedure is done; if more cancer remains, further surgery is completed during the same visit. Mohs surgery in San Jose has a success rate of as high as 98% when it is the principal intervention, and is a great option for people with non-melanoma skin cancer.
But not everyone can undergo Mohs surgery, such as those with bleeding issues or patients who have already had a carcinoma treated only to have it return. For those patients and for others skin cancer treatment using Superficial Radio Therapy such as San Jose skin cancer doctors can perform with the Sensus Healthcare SRT-100 device may be the best option. SRT also has a 98% cure rate for skin cancer and it is non-invasive, so pain-free that anesthetics are not needed, and it is an outpatient procedure with quick healing time and without side effects in the near or long term.