Keep an eye on skin spots

AUSTRALIA is considered to have the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world, said Dr Mike Inskip of the Sunspot Clinic in Hallam.
“Our climate and related outdoor lifestyles are such that they facilitate the vulnerability of the population to large amounts of sun exposure,” he said.
“One in three Australians will develop some form of skin cancer in their lifetimes.”
The Sunspot Clinic offers a full skin body check in which a well-qualified doctor examines the skin surface looking for skin cancers in their early and treatable stages. A full skin examination takes about 20 minutes.
“At Sunspot we use the well-established technique called dermoscopy,” said Dr Inskip.
“This involves high magnification and illumination to look for the early signs of skin cancer.
“Our state of the art Fotofinder computerised dermoscopy system can record high quality images of skin lesions for later comparison.
“This technique greatly improves accuracy of diagnosis compared to a naked eye skin examination.”
People with a family history of skin cancer, fair skin types (especially red hair and freckles), those with high sunlight exposure or who have used solariums frequently, those over 35 years and anyone who is concerned about a lesion on their skin are strongly encouraged to have regular skin checks.
“Most checks reveal no significant problems, however if necessary, treatments can be given at the clinic, or the patient referred on to local plastic surgeons,” Dr Inskip said.
The clinic is next to the Shell service station, with access via the service road.
Phone 9708 6765 for an appointment or visit www.sunspothallam.com.au for more details.
No referral is necessary and there are significant rebates from Medicare for the service.