Radiation therapy
Two types of radiation are most often used to treat skin cancer: conventional x-rays and the electron beam.
Radiation therapy is usually reserved for elderly patients who are too ill to undergo surgery or who refuse to have it performed. It may also be used to treat very large cancers where reconstruction would be difficult. Short-term cosmetic results can be good, especially when the treated area is small. It should never be used on skin that has already suffered radiation damage.
Technique: The area to be irridiated is outlined. Then a radiation beam is directed at the outlined area. The healthy tissue is protected with a lead shield. The treatment usually requires several exposures a week for a few weeks.
Advantages:
Radiation is essentially painless and within the first two or three years, cosmetic results are usually better than those obtained by other techniques. The cure rate is high.
Disadvantages:
If the radiation is used in a hairy area, it will produce permanent hair loss. Also, the radiation itself can cause skin cancer. If the treatment requires many sessions, the cosmetic results are often worse than those after treatment by other methods.
Undesirable long term after-effects are common, so this procedure should only be used when other methods are ruled out, and rarely on patients under the age of 35.
