Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In the United States alone, more than 600,000 people will die from cancer this year, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Some of the most common cancers include lung cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and prostate cancer—that is, millions of individuals are diagnosed with these cancers each year.

Skin cancer is no exception. While most cases are benign, they can become cancerous if left untreated.

Want to know what the different skin cancer treatment options are? If so, you’ve stumbled on the right page.

Keep reading to learn more about the topic!

What is Skin Cancer?

Skin cancer refers to abnormal growth of skin cells. Generally speaking, there are two types—melanoma and keratinocyte carcinoma.

How are they different? Melanoma is typically harder to treat; there’s also a higher chance that it will spread to other parts of your body.

In contrast, keratinocyte carcinoma is less likely to become life-threatening. Left treated, however, it can grow and spread.

4 Skin Cancer Treatment Options (Aside From Chemotherapy)

At the end of the day, your treatment plan depends on various factors such as the size and stage of the cancer. As always, consult your doctor or oncologist before stopping or starting a new treatment. Here are a few options:

1. Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy involves freezing the skin cancer with liquid nitrogen. As the tissue thaws, it may be destroyed. While there will be some pain at the cancer site, it should go away within a few days.

It’s worth noting, however, that cryotherapy is rarely used alone. More often than not, it’s used together with other treatments.

2. Moh’s Surgery

Mohs surgery involves removing the growth layer by layer. Moh’s surgeons will continue this procedure until there are no more abnormal cells visible under a microscope.

One of the great things about this method is that it’s designed to remove minimal amounts of healthy tissue. This makes it ideal for skin cancer lesions that are on the face, and in other delicate areas.

3. Photodynamic Therapy

Photodynamic therapy uses light to kill cancer cells. How does it work? A doctor will first inject a photosensitizer drug into your blood.

After a certain amount of time, they’ll shine a special type of light to the area. The photosensitizer in the cancer cells will then absorb the light. As a result, it’ll produce toxic oxygen, which may kill off the cancer cells.

4. Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a type of treatment where you stimulate your own immune system to try to kill the cancer cells. Basically, it uses drugs to “retrain” the body so that it can recognize and attack the foreign invaders.

Not only is it less time consuming compared to traditional methods but it’s also less likely to cause serious side effects.

Treating Skin Cancer

And there we have it—four different skin cancer treatment options. As you can see, there’s more than one way to treat malignant skin lesions!

For more health-related articles, check out the rest of our blog!