Skin Cancer Foundation

Squamous Cell Carcinoma

After Treatment

Treatment does not end when the skin cancer has been removed.  The physician will consider both medical and cosmetic factors in choosing the technique for closing and repairing wounds left after cancer treatment.  The choice may be to let the wound heal naturally, close it with stitches, or, if surgery has been extensive, to cover the area with a skin graft. 

Cancerous and precancerous conditions can recur even when they appear to have been adequately treated.  No fail-safe method of treatment yet exists.  A patient should continue to see the physician for regular follow-up visits for several years to make sure that the growth has not recurred and also to check for new skin cancer.  The patient should perform self examination of the skin regularly, as well. Patients who have had one skin tumor have a 40 percent greater risk of developing new tumors in the next two years.

The program recommended for most patients is a visit to the doctor one month after the treatment has been completed, with follow-up visits at three-month intervals for one year.  After that, if all is well, the patient will be asked to visit the doctor on a semiannual and then annual basis.  The minimum recommended follow-up period is five years.  These visits to the physician's office are essential, since recurrent or new growths are not always evident to the patient.