Skin and Mole Checks

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We offer 3 skin check options. Scroll down or click on the option below to learn more and decide which one is appropriate for you.

The team of trusted GPs practising at HSMC offer skin checks, examining moles and other skin blemishes for possible signs of skin cancer. We use the latest in technology to monitor changes in the appearance of moles, skin spots and blemishes, and can treat skin cancers and perform excisions.

Whether you only have a few spots that you are concerned about, or you want to routinely plan a full-body skin check, we are here to help.

Please call the skin clinic on (03) 9510 5500 to book your skin check.

Skin cancer check options

Full body skin check including total body mole mapping photography

  • Full price – $285
  • Discount for pension cardholders $250
  • Length of appointment: 45 – 60min
  • A series of 30 total body mole mapping images taken by our trained nurses documenting almost all areas of the body.
  • Full body skin check (head to toe examination) by a qualified skin cancer doctor, using dermatoscopy.
  • Macro-photography of individual skin lesions of interest or concern.
  • For follow-up appointments: When you attend for follow-up mole mapping, new photographs (both total body mole mapping photographs & individual macro-photographs) will be compared with previous sets of photos to assist in detection of new and changing skin lesions.
  • If any suspicious or atypical lesions are detected during the examination, your doctor will be able to offer appropriate investigations or discuss treatment options.
  • If you have high risk of melanoma or over 100 moles on your body, you should consider having mole mapping every year. There is evidence that mole mapping can allow earlier detection of melanoma in high risk patients and therefore improve the chances of successful treatment.
  • Even if you don’t have very high melanoma risk, you may choose to have mole mapping because you would like additional reassurance with photographic record of your skin spots that can be compared to at each subsequent visit.

Full body skin cancer check

  • Full Price $205
  • Discount for pension cardholders $170
  • Length of appointment: 30min
  • Full body skin check (head to toe examination) by a qualified skin cancer doctor, using dermatoscopy.
  • Limited body mapping photography (1-2 regions), and limited macro-photography of individual skin lesions of concern (3-5 lesions).
  • If any suspicious or atypical lesions are detected during the examination, your doctor will be able to offer appropriate investigations or discuss treatment options.

It is important to remember that you will always benefit from a skin check, no matter what skin type you have or what background you come from. If you answer YES to any of the below questions, we recommend a full body skin check or mole mapping to help you have peace of mind about your skin:

  • previous history of skin cancer?
  • family history of melanoma or other skin cancers?
  • moles or spots that I am concerned or not sure about?
  • over 100 moles?
  • used a solarium in the past?
  • multiple sunburns growing up?
  • fair skin, and skin that burns easily?
  • I am over the age of 40?

If you answer yes to more than one of the questions, you may be at higher risk of skin cancer, and may want to consider having total body mole mapping photographs.

Mole check: Check up to 3 spots

  • Full price – $110
  • Discount for pension cardholders
  • Duration of appointment: 15min
  • Limited skin check of up to 3 concerning skin lesions by a qualified skin cancer doctor, using dermatoscopy.
  • Macro-photography will be taken of these individual skin lesions of concern.
  • If any suspicious or atypical lesions are detected during the examination, your doctor will be able to offer appropriate investigations or discuss treatment options.
  • If you have just one or a couple of spots of concern (i.e., if one of your existing moles changes colour, size, shape or has started to itch or bleed), it might be appropriate to have just those spots checked.
  • If you have risk factors for skin cancer and haven’t had a full body skin check for over a year, it’s usually preferable to have your whole body checked, in case of skin cancers you aren’t aware of.
Computer software and mole mapping technology, Dermengine is used by a doctor to check skin for changes in skin spots that may indicate skin cancer in a patient.

The Skin Check Doctors

Skin Checks FAQs

Every year, in Australia skin cancers account for approximately 80% of all newly diagnosed cancers, and over 1000 people die of melanoma. We have one of the highest incidences of skin cancer in the world and that is why it is important we should look after our skin and proactively look to catch skin cancers early. 

What you see yourself might not always give you the full picture. Quite often we see patients who attend for review of a concerning spot that turns out to be harmless, and incidentally, we find other skin spots that require further attention.

It is important to remember that you will always benefit from a skin check, no matter what skin type you have or what background you come from.  If you answer YES to any of the below questions, we recommend a full body skin check or mole mapping to help you have piece of mind about your skin:

I have:

  • moles or spots that I am concerned or not sure about?
  • over 100 moles?
  • previous history of skin cancer?
  • used a solarium in the past?
  • fair skin, and skin that burns easily?
  • a family history of melanoma or other skin cancers?
  • I am over the age of 40?

We also recommend skin checks if one of your existing moles changes colour, size, shape or has started to itch or bleed.

Mole mapping (Total Body Photography) is a comprehensive skin cancer examination that includes a full-body skin check, total-body photography and macrophotography of skin spots. 

Utilising the latest in mole mapping technology (Dermengine) for our skin cancer checks, we can create a photographic record of your skin and moles. This will serve as a baseline for your future skin checks and assist your GP to define if a spot is totally new, or if any changes have occurred in pre-existing moles.

When you book for mole mapping, we expect the consultation to take up to 60 minutes, and will involve:

  • Undressing down to your underwear and take off any jewellery for the examination.
  • Discussing your relevant medical history, history of sun exposure (including burns or use of solarium’s), as well as a family history of skin cancer.
  • Total-body photography – a series of 28 photos of your body. This process takes about 20 minutes by our practice nurse. During follow-up visits, these photos are retaken and compared to look for changes.
  • Your doctor will then perform a full-body skin check using a dermatoscope to light up and magnify individual spots on your skin. The polarised light allows us to see details that would otherwise not be visible.  Macro-photos will be taken of any skin spots that require monitoring, and these will be retaken at follow-up visits to look for changes.

At the end of your mole mapping appointment, we will have a better understanding about your risk of skin cancer and provide you with recommendations for:

  • If you need to return to remove any abnormal spots or to monitor.
  • Your recommended frequency for future skin-checks.

Mole-mapping and full-body skin cancer checks are essential to reduce your risk of skin cancer.

In Australia, we have one of the highest skin cancer rates in the world: More than 60% of Australians will get skin cancer before they turn 70 and over 2,000 Australians are dying of skin cancer each year. It is important to establish good habits of performing routine skin checks and mole checks.

We have been helping thousands of patients in Melbourne with effective skin checks and treatments, so If you have not booked a skin check in a while, come, and see us at our practice in Prahran.

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High Street Medical Centre acknowledges the Wurundjeri people, who are the traditional custodians of the land on which we work. We pay our respects to Wurundjeri Elders past, present and future, and extend that respect to other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We value their ongoing contribution to the cultural heritage of this land.

 

 

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