Med office offers new skin cancer treatment

Marianna’s newest dermatologist team, Gulf Coast Dermatology, will be bringing a state-of-the-art treatment for skin cancer to the area with the completion of the office’s newest Mohs lab next week.
This treatment — Mohs micrographic surgery — is generally only accessible in larger urban areas due to the cost and need in the area.
“For Marianna’s size, the fact that we were able to open up a Mohs lab and offer this type of surgery to the area is remarkable,” dermatologist Dr. Jon Ward said. “Before, patients had to travel to Panama City, Dothan or Tallahassee. The main problem is that there is a lot of skin cancer in Jackson County, and being a rural area with a high number of elderly people, the traveling can be difficult. So patients would put it off and, in turn, the conditions would get worse.”
Ward explained that the need for skin cancer treatment in Jackson County is great.
“Rural areas tend to have the largest amount of skin cancer by population, due to less access to care,” Ward said.
Prior to the incorporation of this lab, Ward explained it was still possible to treat skin cancer. However, it was far less efficient.
According to Ward, of all treatments for skin cancer, Mohs micrographic surgery offers the highest cure rate of up to 99 percent. It has the lowest chance of regrowth, it reduces the potential for scarring or disfigurement, and it is the most exact and precise means of removal to date.
“Mohs treatment allows us to get it all at one time, without asking the patient to come back in if we missed some,” Ward said. “It also helps us to save good skin, by not over-cutting. The old way is to cut a blind margin, or our best guess, and this may or may not remove all of the cancer. In some cases, we would remove too much and damage good skin.”
Ward explained that in Mohs surgery, the dermatologist performs the dual role of skin cancer surgeon and pathologist.
He explained that the procedure involves the surgical removal of the visible portion of the skin cancer, along with a layer of the surrounding skin. This tissue is then divided into sections by a piece of equipment called a cryostat, and is then color-coded by the Mohs surgeon.
The tissue is then processed to create microscope slides for examination and analysis by the physician. These slides indicate whether all the cancer cells were removed or not. If cancer cells still remain, another tissue layer is removed.
The procedure is named for the physician who invented it, Dr. Frederic E. Mohs.
“Another great thing about the Mohs procedure is the response time,” Ward said. “It only takes about 30 minutes for the results. So patients know in a half-hour if all the cancer cells are gone, or if we need to do another stage of procedures.”
Gulf Coast Dermatology opened its Marianna office in December and after two months has already expanded its patient base. The Marianna office is going to be the company’s third offering the Mohs treatment to patients, but the only one serving the Jackson County area. The other labs are in Bay and Santa Rosa counties.
The team is still awaiting approval from the state to begin operations, but Ward expects that approval confirmation this week.
The office’s first day offering Mohs procedures is Feb. 9 and already 11 surgeries have been scheduled that day.