High Valley Dermatology offers a non-surgical cancer treatment option with Superficial Radiation Therapy (SRT). SRT penetrates the skin’s surface with a precise dose of superficial radiation to destroy basal and squamous cell carcinomas. SRT can be used to treat skin cancer lesions almost anywhere on the body, however it is typically reserved for cancers in high risk locations that are not great conditions for Mohs Micrographic Surgery.
Some of the benefits of SRT:
- High cure rate, Short treatment sessions
- No anesthesia, cutting, pain, or bruising
- No downtime following treatment
- Minimal scarring
- Minimal risk of infection
- No need for reconstructive surgeries
SRT safely destroys cancerous cells while minimizing risk to healthy surrounding tissues. When needed, our Physicians can view treated areas with ultrasound allowing them to thoroughly assess and target cancer cells with precision.
Individual treatments are painless and take less than 1 minute of treatment time. Treatments are given in small doses overtime. For most people, this means 2 treatments per week for 6-8 weeks.
Schedule a Skin Cancer Screening
If you have concerns with the health of your skin or need further information on Skin Cancer types, treatment, or prevention, please feel welcome to call High Valley Dermatology.
Superficial Radiation Therapy – SRT
Superficial Radiation Therapy, often called “SRT” for short or otherwise known as “Superficial Radiotherapy”, is a method of providing radiation therapy that treats non melanoma skin cancer including basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.
The term “superficial” means “near the skin surface”. Superficial radiation therapy uses a high and concentrated dose of radiation to treat skin cancer. The reason we use so much higher of a dose than conventional radiation therapy is because it doesn’t go very far into your body—we don’t need to bombard the body with radiation in order to treat surface-level skin cancers.
Superficial radiation therapy has many benefits over conventional methods of treating skin cancer such as surgery. For example, because it’s a non-surgical alternative to surgery, we can treat multiple areas of your body without having to go through the pain and inconvenience of surgery. Also, since SRT is a localized treatment, you’ll only have a surgical scar at one or two sites instead of all the places where you had skin removed for traditional surgery.
What Can’t Be Treated With Superficial Radiation Therapy?
Not all types of skin cancer can be treated with superficial radiation therapy. Tumors that have grown too deep in the skin cannot be a candidate for Superficial Radiation Therapy, but it’s also not a good idea to have SRT for basal cell carcinoma lesions larger than 2 cm in diameter or squamous cell carcinomas greater than 5 mm in diameter. This is because these cancers may need more aggressive treatment options such as Mohs surgery.
How Does it Work?
Superficial radiation therapy has been proven effective at killing both basal cell skin cancer and squamous cell skin cancer while sparing healthy surrounding skin tissues. Superficial radiation therapy is a simple and painless outpatient procedure and is performed in our office. We use a medical device that emits high-energy beams of light, directed onto the skin cancer where they penetrate the skin and kill the malignant cells.
Superficial Radiation Therapy sessions generally take 10 to 30 minutes to complete depending on the size and number of lesions you have treated. SRT may be used alone or sometimes we can use SRT in combination with surgery or other non-surgical methods such as topical medications for treatment of your skin lesion.
Is Superficial Radiation Therapy Covered by Insurance?
The cost of SRT varies depending on the size and number of lesions being treated. We are always happy to provide you with an estimate before performing the procedure. Superficial Radiation Therapy is generally covered by insurance if approved by your insurance carrier for skin cancer treatment.
High Valley Dermatology provides financing options for those who are not able to pay full price up front. For 17 years, our financing division has been assisting Idaho Falls’ residents in obtaining their preferred skin treatment. So, if you have a skin problem and believe Superficial Radiation Therapy is right for you, come see us at High Valley Dermatology and get the medical attention you need!
