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Treatment or Surgery?
- Choose the Procedure That's Right for You -
Surgery has long been the standard for treating skin cancer, but now there is a new, non-invasive option!​​​​
When facing a skin cancer diagnosis, it’s essential to explore the benefits and risks of both surgery and treatment options. The decision on which path to take depends on various factors, such as the type, size, and location of the skin cancer, as well as your overall health and personal preferences.
Image-Guided SRT offers a 99%+ cure rate for basal and squamous cell skin cancers, providing a non-surgical alternative.
Benefits and Risks
Understanding the 2 Treatment Options for Skin Cancer
Treatments (IG-SRT)
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Non-invasive: IG-SRT uses targeted X-ray energy to treat cancer cells without surgery, letting healthy skin grow back
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Precise: Target the skin cells accurately, minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue, leaving no scars
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Less Recovery Time: As a non-surgical procedure, IG-SRT typically has a shorter recovery period and fewer risks for infections.
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No Anesthesia: Unlike surgery, which requires general anesthesia and recovery time, IG-SRT does not require any anesthesia.
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Suitable for High-Risk Areas: It's often a good option for skin cancers in sensitive or difficult-to-treat areas, like face or near vital structures.
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Multiple Sessions: IG-SRT can treat more than 1 area, requires several treatment sessions over the course of a few weeks.
Mohs Surgery
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Invasive: The skin cancer is removed with surgical procedure, creating a wound and resulting in a scar.
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Incision: The size and depth of the skin cancer are only revealed once the incision begins, leaving scars and wounds
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Longer Recovery: Recovery time can vary, and there is a risk of complications such as infection, bleeding.
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Anesthesia: Local anesthesia is used to dull the pain prior to cutting.
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Effective for Larger Tumors: Surgery may be the preferred option for larger tumors or those located in areas where radiation might not be as effective.
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Immediate Results: Surgery typically provides a quick resolution, however may require multiple surgeries to remove all skin cancel cells
What factors matter most to you when choosing a skin cancer treatment?
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Fear of surgery
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Unable to undergo surgery due to other health conditions
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Multiple skin cancers that require treatment
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Want to avoid surgery-related side effects (bleeding, scarring, pain, reconstructive surgery)
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Concerned about maintaining the appearance of your skin after treatment
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Prefer to see the cancer shrink and know that the treatment is effective
Image-Guided SRT Results
Mohs Surgery Results
Which is better?
The choice between Treatment (IG-SRT) and Surgery depends on the size, location, and type of skin cancer, as well as the patient’s overall health and preferences.
IG-SRT is ideal for smaller, superficial skin cancers or cases where surgery might cause cosmetic concerns, while surgery might be necessary for larger or more invasive tumors.
It's best to consult with a dermatologist or oncologist to determine the most appropriate treatment for your specific situation.
FAQs
* What is Image-Guided Superficial Radiation Therapy (IG-SRT)? Superficial radiation therapy is a type of radiation that has lower energy. Low-energy X-rays, like those used in Xstrahl technology, help treat lesions that are very shallow – like the ones on your skin. In many cases, a simple series of low-dose X-ray treatments can provide excellent clinical results for non-melanoma skin cancer as well as other benign conditions, in addition to a better treatment experience.
* How long is a typical treatment? Treatment varies depending on condition and body site, however, most treatments are done in a matter of minutes, and are delivered by a radiation oncologist or dermatologist. Treatments may be repeated over a number of days or weeks, depending on your condition.
* What impact will treatment have on my life? Unlike surgery or more invasive types of radiation therapy, superficial radiation therapy has a very low impact on day-to-day life. During treatment, you can continue to live your life your way, and thanks to the short treatment times, you don’t need to spend a lot of time at your clinic.
* Does the treatment leave scars? Xstrahl systems provide non-invasive electronic brachytherapy, superficial radiation therapy, and orthovoltage radiation therapy to treat a variety of conditions. As a result, this treatment is much less likely than surgery to cause scarring. If you’re receiving treatment for keloids, the radiotherapy will not cause additional scarring, and will make it much more likely that the keloid scar will not come back.
* Will I need follow-up treatments? Radiation therapy tends to be applied over a series of treatments, however, once the course of treatments is over, you won’t need to have follow-up courses.
* Is Image-Guided SRT covered by insurance? Yes, Image-Guided SRT is covered by Medicare and most commercial insurance companies, depending on individual coverage. It is best to discuss coverage with the facility/dermatologist providing the treatment.
* Is Image-Guided SRT cleared by the FDA? Image-Guided SRT, a medical device that delivers precise low-energy radiation using ultrasound imaging as guidance to treat a tumor or other conditions on the body, received FDA clearance in 2015. In order to receive the clearance, the device manufacture submitted data and other clinical studies to demonstrate its safety and effectiveness to the FDA.
* What types of disease can be treated with Superficial Radiation Therapy? For non-melanoma skin cancer, patients with basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma, radiotherapy provides an alternative to surgical treatment and often minimizes scarring. Radiation therapy provides a good treatment option in a dermatology setting when surgery is not preferred, as it offers outcomes comparable to surgical excisions with low complication rates. Radiation therapy can also be used for post-operative keloid treatment and other benign conditions, such as Dupuytren’s contracture and Ledderhose disease. Slightly higher energy devices deliver orthovoltage radiation therapy, which can be used to treat soft tissue metastases and bony metastases for palliative purposes.
* What does a typical treatment involve? Typically, treatment will involve you sitting or lying in a comfortable position. The Xstrahl system is placed over the treatment area and turned on. Within a few minutes, after the treatment has been delivered, you are free to leave. If you’re having keloids treated, you will first need to schedule radiotherapy and then surgery. Once the surgery is complete, but before it has healed, you will receive a course of radiation therapy directly over the wound.
* Does the treatment hurt? The treatment is completely painless; however, you may experience some discomfort in the weeks after treatment as the area heals.
* What are the side effects of treatment? Any side effects from skin radiation therapy usually are limited to the area receiving therapy. These can include: ∙ Skin irritation, ranging from redness to peeling and scabbing over ∙ Changes in skin color ∙ Hair loss in the area being treated
* What is the cure rate? Radiant Aura treatments offer highly efficient cure rates. In treatments for skin cancers using superficial radiotherapy, the Radiant Aura system is comparable to surgical excision, with 90-95% effectiveness. In the treatment of keloids, combined with a suitable surgical extraction, the Radiant Aura system offers a cure rate of up to 94 percent. For more specific cure rates speak to your clinician.
* What does Image-Guided SRT cost? Medicare and most commercial insurances cover Image-Guided SRT. However, every situation is unique. The medical practice offering the treatment should be able to provide you an estimated cost based on your insurance coverage, complexity of the case and various other factors. Please contact your dermatology office for billing questions.