The key fact about skin cancer is it always starts with a small, easily curable spot (if caught early enough).  Anyone, of any age, can be affected by skin cancer and with our harsh New Zealand sun, almost 70,000 Kiwis are diagnosed every year.

Despite all the newly available apps on your smartphone that claim to detect skin cancer, the best way of detecting skin cancer is still by a trained doctor looking at your skin with a Derm Light (which is a devise that enables a trained eye to detect skin cancer and other types of skin conditions early)

At Skin Institute, only qualified doctors will carry out your consultation.  You’ll be asked to change down to your underwear – this will allow the doctor to complete a thorough examination of your whole body.

The consultation is completed with you lying down on a bed, covered by a blanket.  The doctor will check your skin area by area, including feet and legs, stomach and arms, back of legs, soles of feet, back, neck, face and scalp.

The Derm Light (or Dermatoscope) is used to pick up patterns of change in your skin that are associated with the early signs of skin cancer, such as pigment or blood vessels.

The doctor will be looking for any of the following changes to spots on your body:
Asymmetry: two halves of the mole are different from one another
Border: the edges of the mole are poorly defined. It is ragged, notched, blurred or an irregular shape
Colour: the colour is uneven with shades of black, brown and tan. Melanomas may also be white, grey, red, pink or blue
Different: from other lesions (ugly duckling) there is a change, particularly an increase, in size.
Evolving: changing

Our multi-disciplinary clinics are experienced in skin cancer management, from assessment to diagnosis, through to treatment and post-treatment care.  If something is found during your consultation, the doctor will discuss the options available to you.  These could include:

Biopsy
There are different types of biopsies, but all include a small incision to remove tissue for further investigation.  You can read more about the different types of biopsies here.

Surgical removal
Our expert doctors and surgeons are able to perform a number of different types of surgical removals including highly specialised procedures.  You can read more about the different surgical removal options here.

Photograph and watch
This means our doctors will photograph the spots of concern, and set up regular follow up appointments with you, to monitor any further changes.

We recommend a skin cancer consultation every 12 months, unless you have a personal or family history of skin cancer.  Your doctor will recommend the regularity of your checks in this instance.

If you only have 1-2 spots that are concerning you, you can book a free Spot Check at any Skin Institute clinic.  Find out more about free Spot Checks here.