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Skin cancer is the most common cancer in Australia, in fact the total number of skin cancers removed annually from the Australian community is greater than all the other cancers put together. And accounts for approximately 80% of cancers in Australia. The incidence has been increasing markedly over the past 30 years.
Approximately 2,000 die of skin cancer each year in Australia, the majority being from melanoma cancer (1,550 deaths), and the remainder from non-melanoma cancer. This means that approximately 2 out of every 3 Australians will develop a skin cancer over their lifetime.
The greatest risk factor is sun exposure, but genetics, skin type, gender, as well as other factors also play a role.
The sooner a skin cancer is identified and treated, the better the result. Precancerous changes can be identified and managed to reduce the risk of skin cancer development.
At Qutis Skin Check Clinic, we assess your skin to help prevent, detect and manage pre-cancerous skin damage and skin cancer of all types. We are convinced that this will change your outcome for the better. To that end, all our doctors will undertake an extensive assessment, to check for the presence of skin cancer and sun damage, at your visit with management advice and prevention information is also available.
We also provide specialised treatments such as photodynamic therapy, red light therapy for wound management and blue light treatment for rosacea.
Please avoid wearing makeup, tanning lotion and nail polish, when attending your appointment.
This will generally require a local anaesthetic prior to shaving, scraping or punching out the tissue sample to be sent for assessment.
Often this can be performed on the day of consultation but may need to be undertaken on another day.
All the doctors at Qutis are trained in the various forms of these biopsy procedures and will discuss the relative merits of each.
Everyone should be aware of the possible limitations of a biopsy. While mostly it will reflect the nature of the lesion sampled, sometimes various factors can limit the information that can be provided and a definitive removal is required.
As with all procedures you should notify the treating doctor about all medicines you are taking, if you have any allergies, if you have any bleeding disorders or if you are pregnant.
Patients with a pacemaker should notify the doctor prior to any procedure so that correct measures can be undertaken to prevent damage to your pacemaker during the use of diathermy equipment.
Many different types of surgery can be used for the treatment of skin cancers.
Curettage and electrodesiccation (diathermy) is the most common surgical treatment used for Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC), this involves the removal of the tissue with a curette and then the area is treated with an electric current to destroy any remaining cancer cells. It can leave a small scar or a white patch.
An elliptical excision or skin flap repair is required where definitive treatment needs to be guaranteed. Following removal the site is repaired with sutures. Occasionally a graft is needed to repair larger or difficult to close sites.
As with all procedures you should notify the treating doctor about all medicines you are taking, if you have any allergies, if you have any bleeding disorder or if you are pregnant.
Patients with a pacemaker should notify the doctor prior to any procedure so that correct measures can be undertaken to prevent damage to your pacemaker during the use of diathermy equipment.
Use on the lower legs can lead to an ulcer, so this is a site where all due care is required.
Because of the very low temperature the cryotherapy may result in some discomfort during the freezing process and for one to two hours after.
Cryotherapy has the advantage for being a relatively inexpensive procedure and is relatively available in most general practice and skin clinic in Australia.
The following day, the area treated will be red and somewhat uncomfortable, and requires regular application of a moisturising and soothing product. Avoidance of sunlight is necessary for the two days following the treatment. Most people are able to return to their normal work after 7 to 10 days.
The doctors at Qutis have been using photodynamic therapy since early 2011 and so have considerable experience using this treatment.
If you would like to find out more about the benefits of this treatment from a non biased source, please click the links below:
Photodynamic Therapy Brochure (How Photodynamic Therapy works and how it can benefit you) – Download Form (1.7mb)
Skin Cancer: Preventive photodynamic therapy information
Recent advances in the prevention and treatment of skin cancer using photodynamic therapy