GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — A new, less-invasive treatment option for people diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer is now available in Marshall County.
A lifetime of sun exposure and severe sunburns means someone is more likely to receive a skin cancer diagnosis during their life. Dr. Josh Wharton said the number of diagnoses is high in Marshall County.
“It’s an outdoor community with a lot of recreational items that go on,” Wharton said. “We have a lot of fishing, a lot of hunting, a lot of farmers, so a lot of prevalence of skin cancer.”
He estimates 1,300 people living in Marshall County will be diagnosed with nonmelanoma skin cancer this year. Wharton treats patients at Dermatology of North Alabama in Guntersville, which will be the first clinic in the county to offer a type of non-surgical treatment for common skin cancer.
“There’s no pain, no cutting, no blood, no reconstructive surgery,” Wharton said. “This is a new innovative treatment, which is basically a non-surgical option where we take small doses of X-rays to treat patients until it essentially destroys the cancer cells, sort of one layer at a time.”
Image-Guided Superficial Radiation Therapy also uses ultrasound technology to specifically target cancerous cells.
“It’s just a nice option, a nice alternative,” Wharton said. “I felt like our patients needed this opportunity.”
Wharton recommends people check in yearly with their dermatologist. Wharton said your risk for skin cancer increases as you get older and recommends protecting your skin by wearing sunscreen.
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