Are there any alternative treatments for skin cancer?

This might help you in making your report: http://www.healthmedicalinformation.com/category/healthy-lifestyle/skin-cancer

All the best

Well, it depends what you mean by ‘alternative treatments’.

If you simply mean are there any treatments used for skin cancers other than chemotherapy, radiotherapy or pain relief - yes there are. Chemo and rads are not the main treatments for skin cancer - either the person setting your assignment has asked a trick question, or is ignorant of the facts him/herself.

The main treatment used for skin cancer is surgery; for many cases of skin cancer, that is all the treatment that is required.

Most basal cell and squamous cell cancers can be successfully treated with surgery, and in most cases, the surgery is minor - it is often done under local anaesthetic. Radiotherapy is sometimes used, but usually only when surgery is not appropriate, for example because the cancer covers a wide area, or the area cannot easily be operated on, or the patient is very elderly. It’s also sometimes used after surgery

But if you’re asking about melanomas specifically: Stage one melanoma is treated by surgical removal of the affected mole. Stage two and three melanomas (medium to advanced) is treated by removal of the melanoma, followed by further surgery to remove more tissue if there are signs that any melanoma cells could have been left behind.

There is no strong research evidence to show that any adjuvant treatment (that means post surgery, which means chemotherapy and radiotherapy) helps to stop melanoma from coming back or spreading. It is currently only offered within a clinical trial.

Stage four melanomas, where the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, is sometimes treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Biological therapies and immunotherapy is also used. Biological therapies are treatments that use substances made naturally by the body. Some of these treatments are called immunotherapy because the drugs stimulate the immune system or occur naturally as part of the immune system. Interferon is the most common immunotherapy used; it helps the body attack cells that the body recognises as abnormal, for example cancer cells. Interferon treatment has been tested in melanoma for some years, but it’s still an experimental treatment. It’s usually usually given as an injection under the skin

HOWEVER, if by your question you mean what ‘alternative treatments’ is usually taken to mean, the answer is a resounding NO.

‘Alternative’ in this context is another word for ‘unproven’. If an alternative medicine has been proven to work, it is no longer ‘alternative medicine’, it is simply ‘medicine’.

Wherever there’s cancer there’s an unscrupulous charlatan eager to part desperate and vulnerable people from their cash in exchange for ineffective and dangerous treatments.

But mostly those promoting their pet ‘alternative cancer treatment’ are well-meaning, but are completely ignorant about cancer.

You can be sure that those claiming wonderful things for oleander soup or mega doses of vitamin C have no personal experience of treating cancer in this way; what they have ia a warm, fuzzy feeling that ‘natural’ must be better, and they’ve usually found their favourite ‘alternative treatment’ on the internet, and fallen for the unsubstantiated testimonials provided by its promoters.