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Basal Cell Cancer
Basal cell cancer (BCC) is the most common cancer of all. About one half of all Aus-tralians will have one of these during their lifetime. Luckily, they tend to grow slowly and don't tend to spread to the rest of the body like the potentially more nasty skin cancer melanoma.
However, they still need to be treated sooner rather than later. In the olden days they were termed “rodent ulcers” because if they were left untreated for a while, they eventually looked as if you had been chomped by a rat. BCC’s start off as pink slightly shiny patches in the sun-exposed areas of the body and grow slowly over many months. They may bleed or become more nodular.
Treatment options are variable depending on many factors, including where on the body the lesions are located, the depth, the expertise of the doctor and the wishes of the patient.
BCC’s can be cut off or scraped off the surface. Occasionally one can freeze very superficial lesions. Other options include topical medications such as Aldara which requires a prescription and about a 6 week course. More recently Metvix Phototherapy has been approved for use in Australia, involving the activation of a special cream by a specific light. The Clinic can refer you for other more specialized options such as radio-therapy and plastic surgery.
Please ask your doctor at your nearest Skin Cancer Clinic about the different treatment options.
"The Metvix therapy was great—no surgery was required and no scarring occurred - highly recom-mended."…….. A very satisfied patient