Surgery

In most cases surgery is used as the main treatment for skin cancer, but it does depend on the size of the cancer.  Smaller cancers that can be excised, where the lesion and an area of healthy skin surrounding it are cut out to try and get rid of all the cancer cells, are done under a local anesthetic and will require stitches, but usually you can go home the same day.  Another technique called curettage and electrocautery can also be used to remove smaller tumours, it involves scraping away the skin cancer again under local anesthetic, using heat or electricity to stop the bleeding.  This treatment usually gives fairly good cosmetic results and does is usually done as an outpatient requiring no overnight stay.

Large tumours are more likely to be cut out and may require skin grafts as a result.  There is also a techniquire called Moh's Micrographic Surgery (or margin controlled excision) that is used in some hospitals.  Read about Moh's surgery in more detail here.