Corewell Health is touting the options available for skin cancer treatment at its healthcare center in St. Joseph after the recent acquisition of some new machinery.

Dr. Benjamin Gielda is a radiation oncologist at Corewell in St. Joe and tells us they’ve been doing superficial radiation treatments for skin cancer for about 30 years there. However, this new equipment allows for a wider array of energies that can be applied to each patient so they get tailored care. So, what’s that do?

“Most of the time it cures the cancer in a non-invasive fashion so that folks don’t have to go under the knife and they don’t have to take on the risks of bleeding, pain, discomfort, the things that come with surgery,” Gielda said.

Gielda says Corewell treats a lot of patients with skin cancer, and there are many cases where surgery just isn’t the best option.

“Through the years we’ve had decades long relationships with multiple dermatology offices in town and they’re well aware of the fact that this form of treatment can come in particularly handy when people have skin cancers on their face.”

Gielda says why cut off part of a person’s nose when the cancer could be treated with surface radiation? He says reconstruction of those areas after surgery can be quite tricky, so the superficial radiation treatment is simply a better option.

Gielda notes skin cancer is the most common form of cancer and advises everyone to get checked out by a dermatologist, who can detect early signs of trouble to avoid something more serious later.