What do we provide?

East Gippsland Skin Cancer Clinic offers a full Skin Cancer care, including:

• Skin checks are performed by highly qualified and experienced doctors
• Cryotherapy ( freezing, liquid ice) for suitable lesions
• Prescribing certain topical creams for pre-cancers and certain cancers when appropriate.
• FotoFinder Mole Surveillance Imaging.
• Skin cancer preventive and self-examination advice.
• Comprehensive Skin Checks (head to toe), looking for any suspicious lesions and thorough assessment of spots or lesions using dermoscopy (hand-held magnification device). At the end of your skin check, we will give you all relevant information relating to your examination and treatment, as well as send a record to your own GP. We will answer any questions that you may have.
• Biopsies, including shave, punch and excision biopsies, when suspicious lesions are found
• Surgical excisions
• Referral to plastic surgeons and cancer centers when appropriate.

In complex skin cancer cases where more specialized and advanced level of skill or treatment at a hospital is required we call upon major melanoma and skin cancer units in Melbourne like Peter MacCallum Melanoma and Skin Oncology Service (East Melbourne), The Alfred Hospital Victoria Melanoma Service (Prahran) , Royal Melbourne Melanoma Service ( Parkville), Austin Hospital Melanoma Clinic ( Heidelberg) and selected network of Plastic Surgeons and Oncologists to further assist in your care.

The decision about how to treat skin cancer is based on the nature of the lesion, its location, and how advanced it is, and your overall medical condition.

• We offer a recall system based on the latest guidelines to maximise preventative care and early case detection. Our clinic will send you a reminder SMS text message or letter when you are due for a skin check. An appointment reminder is sent by SMS a few days before your appointment. Patients who do not wish to be involved in this system should advise us.

We utilize high-resolution dermoscopy, which involves looking at the skin surface under 20-30X magnification under high illumination. Dermoscopy is now regarded as the standard for skin mole examination and skin cancer diagnosis. It allows doctors to assess moles with greater accuracy, thus significantly improving the accuracy of diagnosis. It helps with detecting skin cancers early and avoiding unnecessary surgery of non-cancerous moles.

We are also using a brand new FotoFinder imaging technology (computerized, high-resolution dermoscopy and image storage system), the leading system for holistic skin cancer screening and surveillance. This very advanced computer-based technology assists in the detection of early skin cancers. It allows us to take a photograph of your entire skin systematically, within a few minutes, and create a map of your moles. It also allows us to create highly magnified images (dermatoscopic images) of your moles, which clearly show the mole structure. This way, we can see whether the mole is suspicious or not. Total body photographs and dermatoscopic images of conspicuous moles can be stored. These images can be compared with new images repeatedly. During your subsequent check-ups, this system helps to instantly detect new moles and minute changes in your existing moles. The most essential function of this system is that it allows us to review suspicious lesions, have a second thought about the best management course, and discuss them with other colleagues if required, with your consent.

Your Data will be treated as confidential.