The first step in treating skin cancer is identification with a professional skin cancer screening. With a main office in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area and outreach clinics in the surrounding communities, Cedar Valley ASCENT features a team of experienced, knowledgeable skin cancer specialists with extensive expertise in conducting full-body skin cancer screenings. The examination is a visual screening that will be conducted at Cedar Valley ASCENT in the same private setting as a regular office visit. A provider will review your skin from head to toe over the course of about 10-15 minutes. The provider will discuss any spots or other skin areas you are concerned with or have questions about and will advise on steps to take in order to monitor potential problem areas (such as moles). It is typically recommended that patients monitor and report to their provider any changes to moles, including those involving size and color, as well as changes in sensation, any spread in pigmentation beyond the border of a mole or mark and other developments.

If your provider is concerned that a spot may be skin cancer, they will order a biopsy, during which time a sample of the skin is taken and later examined by a pathologist so a cancer diagnosis can be confirmed. A skin growth that has been confirmed to be cancerous will later be removed by a skin cancer specialist such as Dr. Kenny Rodriguez of Cedar Valley ASCENT. This procedure can almost always be performed on an outpatient basis in our office. A local anesthetic is used during most procedures and pain or discomfort is usually minimal. Undergoing this treatment in a prompt manner after diagnosis helps increase the cells’ responsiveness to treatment. Depending on the type of skin cancer you are diagnosed with, a certain surgical treatment method may be pursued, some of which include:

  • Mohs Micrographics Surgery (where thin tissue layers are removed and studied. This process is repeated until no cancerous tissue remains.)
  • Excisional Surgery (involving the removal of the entire visible growth and surrounding area, which is then studied. These steps are also repeated until no tumorous cells exist.)
  • Electrosurgery (small growths are shaved off and burned with an electronic needle. This can be done potentially several times until all of the cancer is eliminated.)
  • Cryosurgery (liquid nitrogen is used to remove malignancies for as many applications as needed.)
doctor examining mole on woman's arm

In the rare event where the growth removal requires a deeper or more extensive level of tissue removal, Dr. Rodriguez can provide reconstructive services. Dr. Rodriguez can explain what your options are and give you a better idea of what to expect as a result of your procedure.