Superficial Radiation Therapy: Learn About This Painless and Surgery-Free Skin Cancer Treatment

If you’re facing a skin cancer diagnosis for basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma, you may not need surgery to treat your condition. At HK Dermatology in San Juan Capistrano, California, we offer noninvasive alternatives to non-melanoma skin cancer treatment using the state-of-the-art SRT-100™ system.

Understanding skin cancer

When you have skin cancer, your skin cells divide and grow out of control. In the United States, skin cancer tops the list of most common cancers.

There are different forms of skin cancer, including melanoma and non-melanoma. When you have melanoma, cancer develops in your melanocytes, the area of your skin that produces the pigment melanin. Melanoma skin cancers are very serious and account for more than 90% of skin cancer deaths.

The most common forms of skin cancer are non-melanoma and include basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Nearly 99% of skin cancers are non-melanoma varieties and usually occur in areas of your skin exposed to the sun, like your hands, face, neck, or ears. We can treat these types of skin cancers with superficial radiation.

Fighting skin cancer with superficial radiation therapy

Superficial radiation therapy (SRT) delivers precise and controlled doses of calibrated radiation energy just below the surface of your skin. This energy is made up of light particles that are a type of electromagnetic radiation or X-ray. This light lies beyond the visible spectrum of light, so the naked eye can’t see it.

When we use the SRT-100 to deliver these powerful X-rays to a depth of 5 millimeters, we can destroy non-melanoma cancer cells to keep them from dividing and growing. That means we can treat your skin cancer without incisions, stitches, scars, or the risk of infection. This gentle approach also works without damaging any of your healthy surrounding skin during your treatment.

Fighting non-melanoma skin cancers with SRT-100 offers several advantages, including:

• Increased comfort during treatment
• Precise doses of radiation
• No anesthesia, bleeding, or pain
• No downtime, activity restrictions, or scarring
• 95% and higher cure rates

With SRT-100, you also don’t have to worry about reconstructive surgery after your treatment.

SRT treatments are safe and pain-free

SRT treatments usually take about 30 seconds, but you often need several sessions, depending on your diagnosis.

To prepare for your therapy, we mark the areas on your skin to clearly illustrate the area exposed to radiation during your session. We have you sit or lie in a comfortable position and cover your body with a lead vest. This cover is similar to the protective apron used when you have X-rays at the dentist. We also place a lead shield over the treatment area. These steps protect you from radiation exposure during your SRT session.

Once we put the SRT-100 applicator in place, we leave the room but continue watching and communicating with you through our surveillance system. You’ll hear a beep when the radiation begins to start destroying your skin cancer cells.

After completing your therapy, you can return to normal activity without any downtime. As your treatment progresses, you may notice redness in the area, but this is normal. We might also adjust your radiation plan to achieve maximum results.

To see if superficial radiation therapy can treat your non-melanoma skin cancer, call us at HK Dermatology or schedule an appointment online today.

*Individual results may vary