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  • What is Superficial Radiation Therapy (SRT) and how is it used?
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Dr. Judith Crowell: This has really extended what I can do for my patients. I live in South Florida, we have lots of skin cancers. Now we're talking about non-melanoma skin cancers; this is not a choice for Melanoma. But right now, most skin cancers are either destroyed by using curettage, they're excised, they're excised using a special method called Mohs, which always meant there had to be a cut, there had to be a scar that was formed. And no matter how well the surgeon does, there's still an injury to the skin and there's usually some mark that's left behind.

With Superficial Radiation Therapy, you can treat these non-melanoma skin cancers - those are basal cells and squamous cells - without cutting. And it's different than what you do when you go into a radiation department in a hospital because that radiation is really meant to attack very deep cancers and deep organs. This is very superficial; there is no danger to any other areas, it's just a small area that we're trying to treat. It usually takes between 12 and 17 treatments, depending on the type of skin cancer, where it's located, the depth. It has to do with the health of the patient - what are their problems are, their [inaudible 00:01:41]? Are they elderly? Do they have very thin skin? Is it an area of the body, particularly legs, that do not heal well, where surgery really is the worst option?

And the nice thing about it is that it's in the 90 plus percentile of cure rate, same as doing surgery. So you're in the same ball park that you can get with other methods, but what you'll have maybe is a little sunburn look. It all goes away and there's no scarring.

What is Superficial Radiation Therapy (SRT) and how is it used?

Dr. Judith Crowell explains how Superficial Radiation Therapy (SRT) works to treat cancer.