Now is the time to have a full skin assessment
October 18th, 2019
Thankfully, kiwis are becoming more aware of the dangers of too much sun, and cancer awareness is front of mind for many people when assessing their health on a yearly basis. It is important to set up regular appointments to keep an eye on changes and have regular examinations by a trained, accredited skin cancer doctor. The importance and effectiveness of early melanoma detection cannot be overemphasised, and the survival rate for someone in early stages is remarkable.
Early detection means that skin cancers can be treated earlier which means a better prognosis.
If you have a mole which is changing shape, size or colour you should get it checked. If you develop any new lesions on your skin you should get them checked.
When you visit the Upper Hutt Skin Clinic for your initial consultation, our
highly trained Doctors and Nurses will give you a full skin assessment. This
involves a full body skin examination with Dermatoscopy. A dermatoscope is a hand held instrument which uses epiluminescence microscopy to look deep into your skin, allowing our trained doctors to recognise the microscopic signs of skin cancer. It also gives you confidence that moles are normal and do not require excision.
Your risk of skin cancer will then be assessed using New Zealand guidelines. A Personalised Management Plan will be developed, based on examination findings and risk. You will also be given recommendations and advice on treatments and skin care.
Following your full skin assessment you may require some treatment to remove or test a skin lesion or to treat areas of sun damaged skin. This will be discussed with you following your appointment, and a treatment plan which you are comfortable with agreed upon. You can feel safe in the knowledge that your risk for skin cancer has been assessed using the latest technology and you are in experienced hands.