08:50 AM Mountain Standard Time on Tuesday, May 16, 2006

By 3TV

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Red, flaky spots, moles that bleed -- most people ignore these symptoms to avoid surgery.

New advances in treatment mean patients don't have to go under the knife to be skin-cancer free.

"Before I ever lived here as a kid, I was always in the sun and getting burned and thinking, 'Oh, I look so healthy and felt so good,'" Ginny Waroblak said.

And now?

"When I walk across the street, I go like this -- shielding myself!" she said.

Waroblak learned about the dangers of sun exposure the hard way.

"Nobody said wear sunscreen. I just kept getting one sunburn after another till I started getting pre-skin cancers," she said.

Dr. Joe Giancola with Southwest Skin Specialists is treating Waroblak with a new type of treatment -- creams. The creams were originally used to treat warts.

"Someone got the clever idea that if these creams can work against the virus that causes warts and if that virus is also involved with skin cancer, these creams may be effective for skin cancer," Giancola said.

Waroblak is being treated on her forehead.

The creams work best on squamous and basal cell cancers.

"If someone has a very deep, thick, nodular skin cancer, these creams are not a great option," Giancola said.

Aldara, Efudex and Solaraze work best on patients with widespread lesions, like Tamara Monero.

"I had a spot on my nose that was getting irritated, bleeding a little and flaky," Monero said. "Then the doctor said he was worried about my whole nose so he wanted to use the cream first because he'd have to remove almost my whole nose."

While surgery may leave a lasting scar, creams turn the affected area red and crusty.

"I had one person ask me if I had been kicked by a horse," Monero laughed.

Monero's lesions healed quickly since her treatment, revealing healthy, cancer-free skin.

"I would much rather go through a month or so of the reaction than having to go through surgery especially when it involves my whole nose," Monero said.

Giancola said the key is sun avoidance and if you have to be in the sun, wear long sleeves, sunglasses and, of course, sunscreen, preferably one with zinc oxide.