Skin Cancer Specialist
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Greater Nebraska Dermatology Clinic
Dermatologists & Medical Aesthetics Specialists located in North Platte, NE
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While skin cancer rates continue to rise in the US, it remains one of the most treatable forms of cancer when caught early. Dr. Daniel Mosel is a board-certified dermatologist, and board-certified in Mohs micrographic dermatologic surgery, at the Greater Nebraska Dermatology Clinic in North Platte, Nebraska. He has extensive experience in designing plans to treat and help prevent skin cancer successfully. His expertise includes the highly effective Mohs technique, which has an impressive cure rate of up to 99%. Contact the center today via telephone or try their convenient online scheduling service to make an appointment.
Skin Cancer Q & A
Is there more than one type of skin cancer?
Yes. Doctors categorize skin cancer into three major types:
- Basal cell carcinoma
- Squamous cell carcinoma
- Melanoma
What does skin cancer look like?
Each type of skin cancer varies in appearance. Basal cell carcinoma, the most common type, may appear as a shiny pink or red bump or create a lesion with raised borders and a crusty center. It can also show up as a raised, reddish patch of skin that may itch but is generally painless.
Squamous cell carcinoma, the second most frequently diagnosed type of skin cancer, sometimes appears as scaly patches of skin with irregularly shaped borders that bleed easily. It can also resemble a warty growth with a dimpled center or an open sore that never seems to heal. Changes in a mole’s color, shape, and size can sometimes signal melanoma.
What are the treatments for skin cancer?
Skin cancer is treated with surgery, and Dr. Mosel chooses the best technique for your situation. All methods focus on removing the growth in its entirety as well as the microscopic cancer cells that may have spread beyond the margins of the visible tumor.
Most skin cancers are successfully removed with regular elliptical surgical excision and closure. Both basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas on your face or your body can be cut out in the shape of a football and closed into a simple line. To ensure the tumor is gone, Dr. Mosel removes the cancer and approximately 4-5 mm of healthy skin surrounding the growth. The cure rate for most surgical excisions is above 95%.
Dr. Mosel usually recommends liquid nitrogen treatments or cryosurgery to destroy precancerous growths that have not yet evolved into cancer but may also use it treat superficial cancers. This method destroys multiple lesions quickly.
He sometimes recommends electrodesiccation and curettage (EDC) to remove cancerous tumors. For this method, he first numbs the treatment area, uses a curette to “scrape” out the tumor, and cauterizes the wound to prevent bleeding and for further destruction of cancer cells. This technique is effective for superficial squamous cell carcinomas and basal cell carcinomas.
With Mohs micrographic surgery, Dr. Mosel removes the skin cancer layer by layer and carefully examines each layer under a microscope before proceeding to the next. He continues shaving the cancerous growth one layer at a time until your skin is clear of cancer cells, including the margins around the tumor.
