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Skin Cancer Treatment on the Central Coast

Doctor Checking Patient Skin — Skin Doctor in Woy Woy, NSW
Doctor Checking Patient Skin — Skin Doctor in Woy Woy, NSW

Medication & Surgeries

At Vidler Ave Skin Cancer Centre, we provide surgical and non-surgical treatments for melanomas, carcinomas, and other skin cancers. Our doctors will take the time to listen and help you feel as comfortable as possible throughout each procedure.
Cryotherapy On Female Patient — Skin Doctor in Woy Woy, NSW

Standard Excisions

We perform excisional surgeries for melanomas, squamous cell carcinomas, and basal cell carcinomas. Normally, this is the only surgery needed for early-stage tumours that have not yet gone beyond established safety margins.

Our medical professionals remove cancerous tumours, together with recommended safety margins, using a scalpel. Depending on the size and location of the wound on the body, we either leave them open to heal or stitch them.

After the minor surgery, we send the tissues to a laboratory for comprehensive analysis. When the results indicate that cancer has spread beyond the ideal safety margin, our doctors may ask patients to come back for another excision.

Curettage & Cautery

These procedures remove actinic or solar keratoses and superficial cases of basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas. For facial lesions and bigger, invasive, and more aggressive cases of carcinomas, we don’t recommend these.

Curettage is a medical procedure where our doctors scrape off portions of or the entire cancerous area of the skin. We use a curette, which is a small sharp tool, to remove such areas while patients are under local anaesthesia.

To quickly stop the bleeding and eliminate residual cancer cells, we cauterise the scraped area using low-level heat or a chemical agent. If necessary, our doctors can repeat the procedures during the same session.

One minor side effect of this type of procedure is permanent changes in skin appearance. Affected areas may not regain their original pigmentation.

Cryotherapy

Our team performs this procedure for superficial basal and squamous cell carcinomas and for cases with few precancerous skin conditions. We freeze affected areas of the skin to remove tumours and lesions with liquid nitrogen. Our team applies the solution to patients’ skin using a sprayer or a cotton-tipped instrument.

After a while, the tumour or lesion and its surrounding areas will blister or harden. Eventually, they fall off.

Though it may sting a little, local anaesthesia’s usually not needed. You can expect some swelling and redness, as well as a loss of pigmentation on affected areas, too.

Aldara Cream

Aldara cream is ideal for treating skin areas with numerous lesions. We apply this on affected skin areas to stimulate the body’s production of interferon, which is a precancerous and cancerous cell-fighting chemical. The cream is available in a variety of strength levels.

Aldara cream is an immunotherapy for superficial basal cell carcinoma. Gently apply it on the tumour 5 times weekly for a minimum of 6 weeks. You can also use it as a treatment for some cases of superficial squamous cell carcinoma. Just apply it 2 to 3 times weekly on solar keratoses-afflicted skin areas for several weeks up to several months.

Compared to other skin cancer treatments, risks for scarring are minimal with Aldara creams. However, you may experience the following side effects while using it:

Efudex

Also referred to as 5-fluorouracil or 5-FU, Efudex is a topical solution chemotherapy actinic or solar keratoses. Just like Aldara, it’s ideal for “field therapy” or application on skin areas with multiple lesions. This cream is also ideal for treating superficial basal and squamous carcinomas. It’s available in varying concentration levels, from 0.5% to 5.0%.

Using Efudex is easy. Just apply it around and on the lesion up to 2 times daily for 2 to 4 weeks.

This topical solution can handle visible as well as invisible lesions. Best of all, risks for scarring are minimal. However, there are some side effects including skin redness, crusting, and swelling. But for many who have used it successfully, the side effects were manageable.

Bulk Billing Accepted

We are a Bulk Billing facility, Medicare & Department of Veterans’ Affairs accepted. Just bring your Medicare & other Health Care Cards when you visit.