Getting a skin check
At Bluff Road Medical Centre, we offer a comprehensive skin cancer screening service. Our team includes some of the industry’s most highly regarded skin cancer doctors, including both male and female practitioners. We also have state-of-the-art digital imaging to monitor your skin and identify any changes to moles or lesions.
In this article, Dr Kachig Malyan explains why it’s so important to keep up-to-date with your skin checks, how to prepare for your consultation and why you should visit highly qualified skin cancer specialists.
1) Why do you need to have regular skin checks?
It’s important because 2 out of every 3 Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer by the time they’re 70. What’s more, melanoma is the third most common skin cancer in Australia.
2) How often should you have skin checks?
Generally speaking, it’s a good idea for adults to have a routine check once a year.
3) What does a skin check entail?
During the appointment, we will check your skin from head to toe using a device called a Dermatoscope.
We also take photos of your skin with a machine called the FotoFinder. This machine allows us to monitor moles and lesions and gives us a baseline for future comparisons. If someone is worried that a lesion or mole has changed or a new one has come up, we can go back to those photos.
4) How long does a consultation take?
The initial consult takes 30 minutes, and reviews are a standard 15 minutes.
5) How should patients prepare for the skin check?
Patients are asked to remove their clothes, down to their underwear. We have female doctors who can perform skin checks, should patients feel uncomfortable with a male doctor.
We ask patients not to wear moisturisers or makeup to the consultation. Ideally, women should avoid wearing nail polish too, as melanomas can grow under nails.
6) Do you invest in new technology?
We recently upgraded our FotoFinder machines. The newer version has a better camera, so the images we take are of much higher quality than 10 years ago.
We also have more machines on-site, so that patients can get in in a reasonable fashion and get their skin checks done.
6) Why choose Bluff Road Medical Centre or Bayside Family Medical?
We’re an accredited skin cancer clinic through the Skin Cancer College of Australasia. Another reason to choose us is because of the level of experience of the doctors.
Our doctors have undertaken advanced study to specialise in this area. For example, I have a Masters of Skin Cancer and Dr Nick Kokotis lectures for a group called HealthCert, which is one of the leading training providers of skin cancer medicine. We’re also investing in our technology to be able to provide that extra level of service to our patients. Overall, we’re actually really quite affordable as well.
7) What happens if you find something suspicious?
The majority of lesions we will treat ourselves, but we’re also in partnership with dermatologists and plastic surgeons. We’ll refer to those specialities if necessary.
Ready to book your next skin check?
Please make an appointment at Bluff Road Medical Centre by calling (03) 9598 6244. Alternatively, click here to book online or download the HotDoc app.
To book a skin check at Bayside Family Medical in Cheltenham, please call (03) 9583 1630.