If you or a loved one received a skin cancer diagnosis, there are many different ways that this type of cancer can be treated. Some of the ways include burning the cancer out of the skin, having traditional or laser surgery to remove the cancer, undergoing chemotherapy, or using skin cancer cream. If skin cancer cream is given, you may have many questions about this type of treatment. Here are a few of the questions related to skin cancer treatment cream and the answers to these questions.
How Can a Cream Kill Skin Cancer?
Skin cancer cream, also sometimes called topical chemotherapy, mixes chemotherapy drugs with an ointment to form a cream. The cream is rubbed directly onto the skin where the cancer is present. From there, the drugs go to work killing the cancer cells that are present on the surface of the skin. This helps to prevent the cancer from growing and spreading, while also helping to kill any cells that the cream comes into contact with.
How Effective Is Skin Cancer Cream?
Skin cancer cream is an effective way to kill cancer cells that are present on the surface of the skin. However, the body does not absorb skin cancer cream. As such, this type of cream is only effective when the cancer is sitting on top of the skin. If the cancer has spread deep within the skin's surface or has spread to other parts of the body, such as someone's organs, skin cancer cream will not work. This is why this type of cream is only prescribed when skin cancer is caught in its earliest stages.
What Are the Benefits of Skin Cancer Cream?
The biggest benefit associated with skin cancer cream is that the chemotherapy medication is targeted to the cancerous area. When chemotherapy drugs are given through an IV, they travel through the entire body. This means that they target parts of the body where cancer does not even reside, which is why there are so many side effects associated with that type of treatment. If the cancer is caught early enough, skin cancer cream is an effective way to treat the cancer without the slew of side effects associated with traditional chemotherapy treatment.
A cream is typically one of the best ways to treat skin cancer that is in its early stages. While effective for some types of skin cancer, it is not effective for all types of stages of skin cancer. A doctor will advise on the different cancer treatment methods that may be needed.