Basal Cell Carcinoma

Basal Cell Carcinoma is a cancer that originates from cells with in the skin. Skin cells receive damage from the sun radiation, chemicals or from some other source. The immune system does not see that the cell is damaged, so it is allowed to continue to grow in the skin. The growth can be above the skin or within the skin. Sometimes it is very difficult to see basal cell carcinoma growing within the skin; patients and health care providers can miss this growing lesion. It is more obvious when it grows above the skin (like the picture above). Patients will say that this type of cancer will bleed with gentle trauma to the lesion, if rubbed.  The treatment is to cut out the cancer cells. Typically, this can be done in an office setting, however sometimes a procedure in the operating room needs to be done under general anesthesia due to the large nature of the cancer or it’s location on the body.