Dr. Nick van Terheyden aka Dr. Nick
Host of News You Can Use
LinkedIn: Nick van Terheyden, MD
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In this week’s special edition of “News You Can Use” on Healthcare NOW Radio I sat down with Joe Sardano, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Sensus Healthcare, to explore Sensus and the technology they are bringing to the treatment of skin cancer. Joe’s past includes some impressive innovations in healthcare including the introduction of MRI and PET scans. I remember how revolutionary those technologies felt and how much resistance they faced. As often is the case, history repeats itself, and the same is playing out in skin cancer treatment.
Listen to the Conversation
Goodbye Scalpel, Hello Light
For over 50 years, Mohs surgery has been the gold standard. A highly effective procedure was developed in the 1960s when skin cancer was far less common. But today, patients are living longer, developing more lesions, and facing complicating factors with chronic diseases like Diabetes and multiple therapies like blood thinners, leading to slower healing. Even the surgeons themselves told us they needed an alternative. So in part thanks to his father’s own skin cancer diagnosis, Joe worked on bringing Superficial Radiation Therapy (SRT) as an alternative approach to treating skin cancer in the US. To be clear, unlike the aggressive electron beam radiation used for deep cancers, SRT uses photon (yes that’s light) radiotherapy that penetrates only about 5 millimeters. Just enough to treat basal and squamous cell carcinomas while leaving healthy tissue untouched.
So, how does SRT actually compare for a patient? The cure rshow equivalency to surgery surgery still limited to 5 years follow up but holding. But the experience is very different. Surgery on the nose, lower leg, or scalp can mean 20–30 stitches, weeks of limited activity, and mandates not to sweat, and of course, scarring. With SRT, there’s no cutting, no bleeding, no stitches, and most importantly, no scarring. There are trade-offs with a need to keep going back for a full course of treatment, visiting the clinic two to three times a week for three to four weeks. But no more putting your activities on hold. You can still golf, swim, and live normally while healing. For seniors who refuse to slow down, that’s everything.
The good news is that access is finally catching up. As of January 2026, SRT has its own Medicare CPT code. So reimbursement is clear and straightforward. Any dermatologist can offer this alternative and with Medicare and Medicaid covering it, private insurers are following.
Listen in to hear how Joe’s own motivation came from watching his 90-year-old father, who “earned every lesion in his garden”, and wanted something better for him than the scalpel helped drive building a new company to help deliver this to a wider population of people who are suffering skin cancer and greater and greater rates every year. As always, have the discussion with your physician and discuss the options to make a personal decision that is best for you
Until next week, keep solving healthcare’s mysteries before they become your emergencies.
This article was originally published on the Dr. Nick – The Incrementalist blog and is republished here with permission.
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News You Can Use gives you a quick insight into the latest news, twists, turns and debacles going on in healthcare with Dr. Nick and Dr. Craig and where every diagnosis comes with a side of side-splitting humor. Your hosts are Dr Nick a long-time host, innovator and healthcare wizard who can prescribe a digital dose of innovation to cure even the most ailing operational inefficiencies. And Dr. Craig Joseph is the healthcare guru who can diagnose both patient and software glitches with equal precision, making sure hospitals run smoother than a well-oiled robot doc.
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