Skin cancer treatment

A diagnosis of skin cancer can be unsettling, but you can rest assured knowing Advocate Health Care offers a full range of options to treat – and beat – the disease. Our dedicated team, including board-certified dermatologists, surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists and more specialists, work closely together and with you to create a personalized treatment plan. And you have access to a full range of support services and leading cancer clinical trials, right here at home.

Find an Advocate Cancer Institute near you.

Treatments we offer

Medical therapy

We offer a full range of medical therapy options, including the latest in chemotherapy, as well as immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy:

Immunotherapy uses newer, FDA-approved drug therapies that give people the ability to fight skin cancer using the body’s natural defense mechanism: the immune system. Immunotherapy works by making hidden cancer cells visible to the immune system, allowing white blood cells to fight and kill the cancer. Studies have shown immunotherapy drugs to be well-tolerated with minimal side effects. This treatment may be beneficial if you have advanced melanoma and if it's used along with surgery and/or chemotherapy.

Radiation therapy

Advocate uses the most advanced radiation technology available to target skin cancer with extreme precision. Treatments include intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), which focus high-dose radiation directly on the tumor, while sparing surrounding healthy tissue.

Surgery

Surgery may be performed to remove the tumor, as well as some surrounding tissue to help ensure the skin cancer is eliminated. Nearby lymph nodes may also be removed if the cancer has spread there.