KTIV News 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and SportsPill could treat a form of skin cancer

A medical breakthrough could help thousands of cancer sufferers, but it won't be cheap. It's a medication that for the first time could provide a non-invasive option for some skin cancer patients.

Out of the hundreds of patients he treats, Dr. Darrell Gonzales says the majority are dealing with basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer caused by excessive sun exposure. "It usually not a life threatening disease, it usually a localized disease, but if you leave it, it can become problematic in the future," said Dr. Gonzales. And it can be difficult to treat, especially in delicate areas, like the nose and ears. That's why Dr. Gonzales and other health experts are calling Erivedge a medical breakthrough. The pill is the latest FDA approved treatment for basal cell carcinoma. "So tumors that are difficult to treat other than radiation or cutting them out. Now we have this new medication that can potentially help shrink the tumor or in some circumstances even eradicate their skin cancer entirely," said Dr. Gonzales.

While Dr. Gonzales believes Erivedge will prevent visits like this one, at 75-hundred dollars a month, the treatment may not be for everyone. "It's gonna be a costly medication and we'll have to see if it's approved by most insurance providers," said Dr. Gonzales. But he believes its benefits towards fighting cancer will ultimately, outweigh the costs. "So we're hoping that over the next few years we can really expand upon this and help out a lot more patients," said Dr. Gonzales

The pill should be available in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, Gonzales says the drug's manufacturer and insurance providers are in negotiations to try to make it more affordable.