DR SANDY STEELE
Preparing for your skin examination
General health information: please advise us of your previous medical conditions, operations, prior biopsies or excisions (please provide your previous histopathology reports or details where past procedures/biopsies were performed), previous skin cancer treatments, allergies and regular medications. It is especially important to inform us if you have any medical issues such as medications or conditions that lower your immune system.
Please provide relevant family history regarding any family members who have had a skin cancer.
The Skin Examination: Makeup can cover skin cancers and our staff can provide makeup remover if needed. It is best to arrive for the examination with no makeup on, only moisturizer or non-tinted sunscreen is ok if rubbed in completely. It is recommended that you wear no nail polish so that your nails can be examined.
A routine skin examination involves getting undressed to expose as much skin as you feel comfortable. Usually this means leaving your underwear on, but if you have any concerns on your genital area please advise your doctor so that these hidden areas can be examined at your request. The examination will include all of your accessible skin and it may also include the lymph gland areas of your neck, armpits and groin.
If you have a specific concern or if there is a skin lesion that is changing it is important to notify your doctor of your concerns.
During the examination, the doctor will use a dermatoscope (hand-held skin microscope) to examine any lesions of interest. This may involve wetting the skin with an alcohol solution or gel.
Every skin cancer begins as a minute lesion, and while it is very small it may not have the features that allow it to be recognized clinically or visually. For this reason it is very important that you tell your doctor about any skin mark or lump that is new, itchy, sore, bleeding or changing.
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If any new spot or lump, of any colour at all, appears and continues to change for over one month we encourage you to contact our staff and arrange for an URGENT LESION OF CONCERN appointment. If you tell our staff you have a skin concern that is new/changing/worrying or urgent, our staff will then provide you with an URGENT appointment as soon as possible. Skin cancers usually progress slowly, but they are unpredictable and may occasionally appear and progress rapidly in just a few weeks.
Recommended follow up: Most adult Australians should have yearly full skin examinations. Patients who are at high risk of melanoma should have a complete skin examination every 3 - 6 months. This includes patients who have had a previous melanoma, or previous non-melanoma skin cancer, or over 100 moles.
Sun Protection (slip, slap, slop!): Cover up as much as possible while in the sun; UPF clothing is an excellent way to avoid an "unexpected" sunburn. Wear a hat and sunglasses whenever you are outside during daylight hours. Sun-screens (30 - 50+) are recommended to apply to sun exposed skin everyday for best results, and remember to reapply frequently. Seek shade whenever possible.
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Self Skin Examination: Each month we suggest that you check your own skin all over with the help of your partner or a family member and that you help them do the same thing. Use a hand held mirror to assist in examination of places like your back. Remember to check areas such as your scalp, back of arms and legs and behind your ears. Look for things that are new or changing or which look "different" to the other moles or skin lesions. Funny shapes, multiple or different colours and change/growth can be a warning sign of a suspicious spot. Utilize assistance in the community from hairdressers to help examine your scalp, dentists to examine your tongue and gums, and optometrists to examine your eyes for moles at the back of the eye or UV damage on the eye.
Check your risk of melanoma:
A useful tool for calculating your risk of a primary melanoma can be found at The Melanoma Institute Australia
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