Our Skin Cancer Clinic

The features of our clinic:

  • Purpose-built in 2018 in Cleveland
  • Relaxing ambience
  • Spacious consulting/procedure rooms
  • Set up for Privacy
  • Online Booking
ABOUT OUR CLINIC

Our Service

Features of our service:

  • Expert Diagnosis & Early Detection of skin cancer is our Forté
  • Minimise the rate of negative biopsies through expert mole scanning
  • Biopsy Results initially sent by SMS with prior discussion of what to expect
  • Patients requiring significant surgical treatment referred to specialists
  • Advise you about skin cancer prevention

THE SKIN CANCER DOCTOR

Our Doctor:

  • Has three Skin diplomas, 2 distinctions, 1 prize, 1 Scholarship
  • Has worked in the field of skin cancer medicine for six years
  • Refreshes and updates skills on a regular basis
  • Audits his results through SNP Pathology
  • Founder of South East Skin Clinic
About The Doctor

WHY GET A SKIN CHECK?

A skin check requires the use of a specialised instrument called a Dermatoscope (mole scanner). This instrument allows the doctor to detect skin cancers that are invisible to the naked eye.

60% of skin cancers diagnosed after a routine skin check at our clinic were not flagged as a concern by the patient. This really highlights that regular skin examinations save lives! Catching a skin cancer early means that the treatment that is generally quick, inexpensive, and cosmetically less invasive.

A routine skin check should be as routine as a visit to the dentist especially in South East Queensland!

A skin screening program done in Germany called the SCREEN project saw over 360,000 citizens, over a one year period, participate in a skin check. Following this program, death from skin cancer fell by half over a five year period.

Children do not routinely require a skin check.

YOUR SKIN EXAMINATION

A full skin check will take 10-25 minutes depending on the complexity of your skin. Your privacy is assured throughout the skin examination with the use of a privacy curtain and drape.

The handheld device allows each lesion to be initially categorised as follows:

  • Harmless – move onto the next lesion
  • Definitely a skin cancer – this will need treatment
  • Might be a skin cancer – the doctor further examines with the ‘mole machine’ (digital dermoscopy)
  • Very unlikely to be skin cancer – the lesion may be re-photographed with digital dermoscopy a few months later

A third of patients attending our clinic for a routine skin check will require a biopsy, which is typically a small shave sample.

MOLE SCANNING

Dermoscopy is medical terminology for ‘mole scanning.’ The small handheld device looks like a magnifying glass with a light. The typical hand-held instrument uses polarised light, allowing the doctor to see into the skin and spot clues that may indicate skin cancer. Over a hundred different structures can be recognised.

A full skin examination is a high-tech game of ‘spot the difference’ where each mole is viewed individually and in comparison to other moles.

We use three types of mole scanners – a handheld device, larger overview device, and a mole machine.

HANDHELD SKIN SCANNER

You will probably recognise the hand-held mole scanner if you have had a full skin check. The device allows the doctor to quickly view a lesion of concern.

We bought the latest Heine delta 30 in 2021. This portable dermatoscope is now used at the skin clinic for the initial examination of all lesions.

The device allows lesions-of-concern to be recorded onto the electronic health record.

A little technicality is that the device supports both ‘contact’ and ‘non-contact’ dermoscopy.

OVERVIEW SKIN SCANNER

The Lumio Scanner provides 2x magnification of the skin through polarised lenses. The 40 LEDs provide a very bright and crisp overview.

The skin check typically starts using this scanner to identify discrete lesions that require further examination with the larger Mole Machine.

This is an excellent device for finding sunspots.

OUR ‘MOLE MACHINE’

The D120 dedicated mole scanner has these features:

  • Images appear on a live digital monitor, allowing for interactive discussion
  • Magnification to at least 50 times through special lenses
  • Links to computer analysis
  • Mapping of the dermoscopy image to the standard photograph taken
  • Follow up examination for any changes

We now use the portable Heine Delta 30 for viewing moles but the D120 mole scanner cart is a useful tool when recording onto the ‘body diagram’ is required

Regular Checks & Spot Checks

WHO IS MOST AT RISK OF SKIN CANCER?

There are over 50 skin cancer risk factors. You can still enjoy our fine SEQ weather but just be sun-sensible.

The strongest risks are:

  • Previous frequent sunburn
  • Skin that easily burns
  • Blue Eyes or Red Hair
  • A family history of skin cancer
  • Large number of moles
  • Previous skin cancer
  • Increasing Age

WHEN SHOULD I GET A SPOT CHECKED OUT?

There are well known acronyms such as ABCDE.  Dr Beatty developed the HAND algorithm to emphasise the importance of Change:

  • Healing: Does not Heal within six weeks
  • Appearance: Change in Size, Shape or Colour
  • New: Most melanoma - and all other skin cancers - are new
  • Different look or feel, or stands out when compared to other lesions
2000

There are over 2000 deaths from skin cancer each year in Australia

Over 800,000

Skin Cancer diagnoses in Australia every year.

13283

Estimated number of New Cases of Melanoma in 2016

 

Author: Dr Richard Beatty

Last Modified:  4/5/2021

First published: 27/8/2014