By now, you've probably heard of the drug Celebrex. It burst onto the scene several years ago and has been very effective in treating diseases such as arthritis. But doctors may have accidentally discovered a new use for the drug.

Researchers have found that Celebrex may also play a role in helping them battle less-serious forms of skin cancer.

Two years ago, Yvonne Cassidy was diagnosed with skin cancer on her face and ear. To treat it, doctors used a cancer-fighting cream called Aldara.

While it was easy to apply and proved to be very effective, it left Cassidy in pain.

"The skin was very raw and red and it could not be covered with any makeup," she said.

Researchers say this side effect is common, and that when it comes to treating basal cell skin cancers, the creams that prove effective can be very nasty.

"This is one of the cases where the treatment is worse than the disease," said Dr. Tanya Oberyszyn of Ohio State's James Cancer Hospital.

Because of this, Oberyszyn began searching for ways to reduce those side effects. She mixed the cancer-fighting cream with Celebrex, a pain reliever that usually comes in a pill.

After testing the combination, she found that the Celebrex not only cut down on the painful side effects, but actually helped reduce the tumors.

"They disappeared," Oberyszyn said. "We had 70 percent better effects with the combination of the two drugs."

Oberyszyn believes the two drugs are enhancing each other: The cream is good at killing cancer cells that are already there while the pain killer is good at preventing or delaying new tumors.

More testing is needed, but in the future, skin cancer patients may not have to endure the painful procedure that Cassidy went through.

The combination creams could someday help a lot of people. It's estimated that every 30 seconds, another American is diagnosed with some form of skin cancer.

For more information, visit The James Cancer Hospital and click on "Video News Releases & Breakthroughs"