Oklahoma patients who have been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma should know that when physicians detect this form of skin cancer in its early stages, the prognosis is favorable. Mohs micrographic surgery produces a cure rate as high as 99 percent.
Excisional surgery represents another viable approach. Like most skin cancer treatments, it is an outpatient procedure. A physician will remove the growth with a scalpel. A border area of skin that appears normal will be taken off as well with the hope of excising any stray tumor cells. This method has achieved a cure rate of 92 percent on primary tumors.
Small lesions might benefit from curettage and electrodesiccation. The physician will scrape away the cells and then eliminate surrounding cells with a electrocautery needle. The physician will take away several layers of tissue and hopefully remove all cancer cells. When used appropriately, this method has a high success rate but is not the right choice for invasive skin tumors or delicate sites like eyelids or genitals. Although a variety of successful options for controlling skin cancer exist, a failure to detect the disease could lead to poor outcomes. An untreated tumor will eventually invade other tissues and metastasize into lymph nodes and organs. Disfigurement and even death can result from spreading skin cancer.
People who have suffered a worsened medical condition as a result in a delay by a physician in diagnosing skin cancer or another disease might want to discuss their circumstances with a medical malpractice attorney. Counsel will endeavor to determine if such an error constituted a failure by the physician to exhibit the required standard of care.