Health Hub Skin cancer and skin checks
Queensland has some of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, and UV levels on the Fraser Coast are high for most of the year. These guides explain how a full body skin check works, what dermoscopy is, the difference between a GP skin clinic and a dermatologist, the main types of skin cancer, what a biopsy involves, and how OptimaScan total body photography (mole mapping) gives your GP a record to compare over time. Skin checks at Main Street Medical Centre are performed by GPs with additional training in skin cancer medicine and are bulk billed for Medicare card holders. OptimaScan is a private service.
From dermoscopy to same-day results — here is exactly what happens during a bulk billed full skin check at Main Street Medical Centre in Hervey Bay, how to prepare and what to bring.
Wondering whether you need a dermatologist in Hervey Bay? Here is how a GP skin cancer clinic differs, what can be done without a referral, and when a specialist referral is the right step.
A practical guide to checking your own skin at home using the ABCDE rule, how often to do it, and what to do if a spot stands out.
Had a skin biopsy, or booked for one? What the procedure involves, how to care for the site, when results come back and what the next steps can be.
Dermoscopy is how GPs look beneath the surface of a spot. What a dermatoscope does, why it is used at skin checks, and how suspicious spots are monitored.
The three main types of skin cancer explained in plain language: BCC, SCC and melanoma, what they look like, and when to see a GP in Hervey Bay.
How often you need a skin check depends on your skin, history and sun exposure. Practical guidance from the GPs at Main Street Medical Centre, Hervey Bay.
