Treating Basal Cell Carcinoma

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common cancer, but it's also the most easily treatable. Simple procedures that can be done in a doctor's office are usually sufficient, but there are also measures you can take at home to prevent recurrences.

The most important nutrients for preventing basal cell carcinoma are antioxidants, principally n-acetyl cysteine (NAC), selenium, and vitamins C and E. NAC works synergistically with vitamins C and E to protect the "watchdog" gene p53 that keeps skin cells with damaged DNA from continuing to grow and multiply. Selenium and vitamin E help the skin make the "super-antioxidant" glutathione, and another antioxidant, alpha-lipoic acid, will help keep glutathione from being broken down in the liver. Alpha-lipoic acid is especially important for people who work or exercise outdoors.

Should antioxidants be used "in" or "on?" I recommend both, for nearly everyone. Men who take Viagra, Levitra, or Cialis may find that supplemental NAC taken by mouth causes headaches when the erection drug "kicks in." Smokers and people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) sometimes get a bad reaction to NAC, too. If your doctor or pharmacist tells you that you should not eat grapefruit, then you should not take vitamin C with bioflavonoids for the same reasons, but "straight" vitamin C should be OK for you.

It's not necessary to megadose. As little as 100 mg a day of alpha-lipoic acid or Vitamin C, 100 micrograms of selenium, 200 IU of vitamin E, and 200 mg of NAC every day can protect the skin, although more is better. If you take more than 100 mg of alpha-lipoic acid daily, make sure you are getting biotin, either from a complete B vitamin supplement (B-100) or biotin capsules. Selenium is absorbed better if it is not taken at the same time as vitamin C.

What else can you do to relieve and prevent basal carcinoma? Number one, wear sunscreen. The recommendation used to be to use at least SP-15 on sun-exposed skin in the summer. Now more doctors tell their patients to use a stronger (higher number) sun screen any time of year.

Also:

Don't try to "rub off" basal cell carcinomas. The cancer will remain, but you will have inflamed, itchy, bleeding skin.

If you must tan, do so gradually, starting at 15 minutes a day, max. Work up to greater exposure, but only if there is no damage, not even slight damage, to your skin. Basal cell carcinoma tends to be more virulent among people who get most of the tanning from tanning beds.

Most importantly, if you have ever had basal cell carcinoma, or any other form of skin cancer, see a doctor every six months. Early treatment is always best.

Recent reader questions:

Q. Is there a herbal remedy for skin cancer?

A. No, although aloe gel will relieve itching and inflammation while you are waiting for treatment.
Q. What about basal cell carcinoma and clove oil?

A. Oil of cloves may relieve the itching, but it won't stop the cancer.

Q. Can there be regrowth of basal cell after treatment?

A. Not if it is removed completely. That's why freezing or surgical treatment, typically a five-minute-or-less procedure in the doctor's office, is best. It usually is not at all difficult for the physician to remove the basal cell carcinoma.

Q. Does basal cell become other kinds of cancer?

A. No, but there are the same risk factors for both basal cell carcinoma and the more aggressive squamous cell carcinoma, so people who get one sometimes get the other.

Q. Can basal cell carcinoma result from sun exposure and drug interaction?

A. When the drug is a psoralen for psoriasis, sometimes yes. Other drugs, such as lisinopril for high blood pressure, supposedly no, although I'd use sunscreen just in case.

Q. What about bloodroot salve for basal cell carcinoma (also known as sanguinaria)?

A. No. Absolutely, positively not. Bloodroot can burn (and by burn, I mean hurt you) the skin surrounding and containing a basal cell carcinoma, but leave just enough of the cancer that it continues growing underneath the skin where it won't be detected. There will be a scar, and a few years later, there can be a major problem that requires surgery.

Q. Is there a cream to rub on basal cell carcinoma?

A. To ease inflammation while you are waiting for treatment, aloe gel. Your dermatologist sometimes will prescribe 5-FU ointment to shrink the basal cell carcinoma or to prevent its recurrence.

Q. What about basal cell carcinoma treated with garlic?

A. There was a clinical study in the Netherlands about five years ago that looked at taking a chemical from garlic, ajoene, and applying it to early-stage basal cell carcinoma. The garlic compound shrank basal cell carcinomas in 17 out of 21 patients, but surgery works virtually every time. Nonetheless, if surgery is completely unavailable to you for the time being, you could try a garlic poultice on a regular basis for six to twelve weeks. Unfortunately, this is likely to have an effect on your marriage, family, work, and social life.