The treatment for basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma is removal of the growth or to destroy the cancer completely with as small a scar as possible. The choice of treatment depends on the type of cancer and its size and position on the skin. Possible treatments are:

• cutting out the growth with a scalpel
• Mohs' chemosurgery, which is removal and tests of layers of the growth and surrounding skin
• curettage and electrodesiccation, which is removal of the cancer with a sharp tool shaped like a spoon and use of an electric current to control bleeding and kill any cancer cells that may be left
• cryotherapy, which is freezing the affected area with liquid nitrogen
• topical chemotherapy, which uses an anticancer drug put on the skin to kill cancer cells
• radiation therapy, which uses high energy rays to destroy cancer cells.
• laser therapy, which uses a narrow beam of light to remove or destroy cancer cells.

When a cancer is cut out, your skin will be numbed first so that you do not feel pain during the surgery.