What types of skin checks do you provide?
We provide 3 types of skin checks: Mole Mapping, Full skin check , Individual mole check (up to 3 moles)

What should I wear for the skin check?
We ask that you come to your appointment with clean skin, free of makeup, and wear comfortable clothes that can be removed easily.
If you are having a mole map please wear plain nude coloured underwear if possible.

What are the types of skin cancer?

Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC)
The most common type of skin cancer. It arises from abnormal and uncontrolled growth of basal cells.
BCC’s can be identified by how they look, they can be

• a shiny bump or nodule
• a reddish patch or irritated skin
• a scar like area
• a pink growth with a slightly raised rolled edges and can be crusted in the centre.

BCC’s rarely spread beyond the original site but if untreated they can become locally invasive and grow wide & deep in the skin and surrounding tissues, the longer we wait to treat them the bigger they get and are more likely to reoccur.
There are some unusual and aggressive cases when BCC’s spread to other parts of the body and in some rare cases can be life threatening.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC)
The second most common type of skin cancer. It arises from an abnormal and accelerated growth of Squamous cells.
SCC’s can grow in sun exposed areas of the body but sometimes can grow in other areas including the genitals.
SCC’s can be identified by how they look, they can be

• a persistent red scaly patch that sometimes can crust and bleed
• an open sore that bleeds or crusts and persists for weeks
• an elevated growth with a central depression that can bleed, it may rapidly increase in size (sometimes called Keratoacanthoma)
• a wart like growth that can crust or bleed

SCC’s in most cases can be easily and successfully treated but if allowed to grow they can be dangerous and potentially deadly. If left untreated the can become invasive and sometimes spread to other parts of the body.

Melanoma
Melanoma is a serious and dangerous type of skin cancer that arises from cells called the melanocytes.
Melanoma has the ability to spread to other organs more rapidly if it is not diagnosed and treated in the early stages.
Melanoma is usually curable once detected and treated early but once they spread deeper into the skin or other parts of the body, it becomes more difficult.
There are many types of Melanoma

• Superficial Spreading Melanoma: it may appear on the sun exposed skin. It can be seen nearly anywhere on the body but mainly on the torso in men, the legs in women and upper back in both. It usually presents as a flat or slightly raised asymmetrical discoloured patch with uneven borders. It can be tan, brown, black or even red or pink, blue or white and sometimes can look like a pink or skin coloured lesion.
• Lentigo Maligna: usually appears in sun damaged skin on the face, ears, arms or upper torso. It can be flat or slightly raised. It is usually blue or black but again can vary from tan, brown or dark brown.
• Acral Lentiginous Melanoma: can appear under the nails and on the soles of the feet or palms of hands they appear like black or brown patches or lines.
• Nodular Melanoma: this is the most aggressive type of melanoma, it accounts for 10-15% of all cases. It can grow very rapidly on torso, legs, arms and scalp. It usually looks like a firm elevated blue to black colour lesion but can sometimes look like a pink or red nodule.

Other Rare Skin Cancers

• Merkle cell carcinoma (MAC)
• Sebaceous carcinoma
• Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP)
• Kaposi’s sarcoma
• Microcystic adnexal carcinoma (MAC)
• Extra mammary paget’s disease (EMPD)