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>> [music] In the Health Center tonight, a procedure used to remove skin cancer is growing
in demand due to people living longer and a rise in the disease. It gives doctors an
instant way to make sure they have cut away all the cancerous cells.
>> David Swisher: The dermatologist says age and probably the lack of not using sunblock
when I was younger and all those things -
>> Added up to trouble for 79-year-old David Swisher. This will be the fourth time the
Derry Township resident has had to have skin cancer removed from his face.
>> Dr. Christie Ammirati: What we're finding on the face, that's where things tend to recur,
and, also, if you can take the smallest margin possible and spare normal skin, that's huge
if it's on your eyelid or if it's on your lip.
>> Saving skin is one reason why Mr. Swisher chose to have Mohs surgery at Penn State Hershey
Medical Center. The other, getting the cancer all at once.
>> David Swisher: You always get a little anxious about waiting, what the outcome's
going to be. So here you know -
>> Dr. Christie Ammirati: When you go home, you're done. It's not wait two weeks, and
then find out, oops, we've got to get some more, take the stitches out, and restart all
over again. There's none of that. It's done.
>> Here's why. During the MOhs procedure, the suspected area is numbed. The skin cancer's
removed, marked, flattened, and frozen before being looked at immediately under a microscope.
>> Dr. Christie Ammirati: Think of it as an apple pie, and what you want to see is the
pie tin, which is all the way around and underneath. So you take this three-dimensional structure,
you place it flat so that you can look at it under the microscope, and then it looks
like two halves of a pizza under the microscope. So you have that, and that way you're able
to see a hundred percent of the margins.
>> Which Dr. Ammirati says can lead to a 99 percent cure rate. Meanwhile, Mr. Swisher's
in the waiting room and has to be brought back to the chair to remove more cancer from
the same spot. The second time, it's all gone, and now he leaves with peace of mind.
>> David Swisher: Thanks so much. [crosstalk]
>> Dr. Ammirati says patients can get good cure rates with other type of skin cancer
removal procedures as well. Since the procedure can take awhile, patients should make sure
they clear the day. We'll be right back.