How Common is Skin Cancer in Maine?

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in America, and in the state of Maine, skin cancer is more common than in most other states. Maine residents experience melanoma, the most aggressive and potentially deadly type of skin cancer, almost 25% more often than most other Americans, and the diagnosis rate for non-melanoma skin cancer in Maine (primarily basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma) are also higher than the national averages.

Simply put, if you are a resident of Maine, skin cancer needs to be a part of your awareness — you need to conduct periodic self exams and get checked out by a dermatologist at least once a year to make sure you are not experiencing pre-cancerous growths or have not developed the actual disease.

What Causes Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer?

In any given year more than 42% of people who live in Maine report having gotten at least one sunburn. That reveals why the rates of skin cancer are so high in Maine: sun damage — and specifically ultraviolet light damage — is the primary cause of skin cancer. Sun burns disrupt the DNA of skin cells and can, over time, lead them to turn cancerous, reproducing out of control and potentially spreading to other parts of the body, at which point skin cancer becomes a serious and potentially fatal concern.

People with lighter skin are at higher risk for skin cancer, but anyone who does not properly protect themselves from UV damage can get skin cancer. Repeated sunburns greatly elevate the risk for skin cancer, but prolonged exposure even without significant burns will also increase the likelihood of someone getting skin cancer. Genes may predispose some people to be more likely to get cancer, but with skin cancer, lifestyle choices are the main driving factor.

How to Find the Best Skin Cancer Doctor Near Me in Maine

Skin cancer doctors in Maine from Portland to Brunswick to Augusta to Waterville all have many options for treating skin cancer, including curettage procedure, laser surgery, Mohs micrographic surgery, topical medications with light therapy, and Superficial Radio Therapy. The best skin cancer care in Maine is the care best suited to your specific illness and to your greater life needs. Work with your Maine dermatologist to choose a treatment that will be most effective, least invasive, and that  will provide you a skin cancer cure with minimal impact on your life overall.

For many patients with skin cancer in Maine, the best treatment option is Superficial Radio Therapy, or SRT, because it is so highly effective and minimally invasive. Once considered but one treatment option for skin cancer, many of the best dermatologists in Maine now consider SRT one of the best options for curing skin cancer.

Is SRT the Best Treatment for Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer In Maine?

Thanks to portable devices like the FDA cleared SRT-100 Vision from Sensus Healthcare, medical operations of any size can use advanced Superficial Radio Therapy technology to treat skin cancer. From a small regional clinic with a single dermatologist to a hospital with multiple skin cancer specialists and surgical oncologists, a compact unit like the SRT-100 Vision gives skin cancer doctors across the state of Maine the ability to use the latest in radiation technology to treat skin cancer.

The device uses ultrasound technology to allow your doctor to view your skin cancer carcinoma growth in extreme detail which allows for precise calibration of the amount of radiation to be used during each treatment. SRT can disrupt the DNA of cancerous cells, causing them to stop dividing and die off, and with the precise delivery of radiation, the treatment does not pose a risk to nearby healthy tissue (the fact that the radiation only penetrates a few millimeters into the skin is why the treatment is referred to as “superficial” in the first place.

SRT requires a number of treatment sessions on consecutive or nearly consecutive days, so it is a longer skin cancer cure process than many other options, but it comes with a better than 98% cure rate for non-melanoma skin cancer and there is minimal scarring after the treatment and almost no pain at all during each session of these outpatient procedures. SRT patients do not even require pain management with anesthetics and there is rarely any wound care involved, the only common side effects being redness and mild tenderness at the treatment site.

If you have been diagnosed with skin cancer in Maine, consider talking to your dermatologist about Superficial Radio Therapy and ask about the Sensus Healthcare SRT-100 vision.