Thorough Skin Check on the Central Coast

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Skin Cancer Checks

Precautionary Advice

Early Detection & Treatment

Friendly, Helpful Staff

A Close-up Of a Woman's Face with A Mole on It — Vidler Avenue Skin Cancer Centre in Woy Woy, NSW

Detection & Diagnosis

When it comes to skin cancer management, early detection is key. That is why at The Skin Cancer Centre, we encourage regular self-examinations using a practical guide from SunSmart Victoria that emphasises:

Becoming familiar with one’s own skin.
Regularly checking all areas of the skin, even those that are not regularly exposed to the sun.
Looking for new spots on the skin, including changes in their shape, colour or size.
Immediately checking with a doctor for any skin-related concerns.

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Skin Checks

When performing skin checks, we take into consideration your skin type, which can fall under the following:

Type 1 – Exceedingly sensitive to the sun, gets easily sunburned and doesn't tan.
Type 2 – High sunlight sensitivity, easily sunburned and tans slightly.
Type 3 – Slightly sensitive to sunlight, occasionally gets sunburned and always gets a light brown tan.
Type 4 – Low sensitivity to sunlight with minimal sunburns and moderate brown tan.
Type 5 – Not sensitive to the sun, hardly ever gets sunburned, and tans nicely.
Type 6 – Insensitive to sunlight, doesn’t sunburn and deeply pigmented.

With skin type 1 or 2, you need to vigorously protect your skin from the sun. We also recommend getting regular skin checks to identify treat early significant skin issues.

If you have type 3, 4, or 5 skin, your skin is less susceptible to skin cancer. However, do not take this for granted. We recommend regular use of sun-protection products, especially when the UV Index is 3 or higher.

While having type 6 skin gives you the most natural UV protection, we still encourage regular skin protection against excessive sunlight.

A Doctor Is Examining a Child 's Arm with A Magnifying Glass — Vidler Avenue Skin Cancer Centre in Woy Woy, NSW

A Doctor Is Examining a Patient's Skin with A Pen — Vidler Avenue Skin Cancer Centre in Woy Woy, NSW

Skin Cancer Risk Assessment

How often should you perform self-examinations and go for skin checks with our doctors? The following are guidelines that can help you assess your own risk and act accordingly.

High Risk

You’re at high risk for skin cancer if you have or had:

Red hair
Type 1 skin & over 45 years old
Type 2 skin & over 65 years old
Family history of melanoma up to first-degree relatives & over 15 years old
Over 100 birthmarks or moles, more than 10 that are atypical or unusual looking
A history of melanoma
Non-melanoma skin cancer in the past or over 20 rough and scaly patches of sun-exposed skin

As a high-risk person, we recommend performing 3-monthly self-examinations and 12-monthly checks at our centre.

Medium Risk

Having the following puts you at medium risk for cancerous skin conditions:

Blue eyes
Type 1 skin & between ages 25 to 45
Type 2 skin & aged 45 to 65
Type 3 skin & older than 65 years
Solar keratosis family history
Solar keratosis personal history
Multiple sunburns in the past

To manage your skin cancer risks accordingly, perform 3 to 6 monthly self-checks and have 2 to 5 annual skin checks at our centre.

Low Risk

Your risks for skin cancer may be considered low if the following characteristics apply to you:

Type 1 skin & younger than 25 years
Type 2 skin & less than 45 years
Type 3 skin & below 65 years
Type 4 & 5 skin

Because of the minimal risk for skin cancer, you only need to have one skin examination with any of our doctors and perform a self-examination annually.

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