Skin Cancer Treatment
Skin cancer is a significant problem in Australia with 2 in 3 Australians being diagnosed with skin cancer by age 70, making us the country with the highest rates of skin cancer in the world.
Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in Australia, with more than 12,000 people being diagnosed with melanoma in Australia in 2012. Medicare records also show that more than 750,000 non-melanoma skin cancers are treated each year.
Australians should protect their skin every day from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays and importantly, they should also check their skin for early signs of skin cancer.
This is why Dr. Leon Van der Walt from Elden Street Medical is proud to have become a Skin Cancer College Accredited Doctor – a new credentialing system offered by the Skin Cancer College Australasia.
Patients can now simply look for the bold purple and orange tick symbol and know that their Doctor has proven skills and knowledge in the diagnosis and management of skin cancer.
“Checking your skin for early signs of skin cancer is vital” said Dr. Leon Van der Walt, “the earlier skin cancers are treated, the greater the chance for a successful outcome” he said.
“Dr. Van der Walt stressed the importance of people getting to know their skin and looking for spots which were sore, changing, abnormal or new and having them checked straight away.”
“In our climate, people also need to protect their skin everyday by seeking shade, covering up with sun protective clothing, wearing a hat, sunglasses and an SPF 30+ or higher sunscreen” Dr Van der Walt.
We offer:
- Cryotherapy
- Biopsies
- Curettage
- Excisions of lesions
- Simple and complicated local flap surgery
- Split and full thickness skin grafts
- Margin controled surgery (delayed closure) to ensure adequate clearance
We only use a dedicated specialised skin cancer pathologist to examine all our tissue samples
Patients can make an appointment by phoning 4396 5266.
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) (2015) Skin Cancer http://www.aihw.gov.au/cancer/skin/ cited February 26, 2015.
- Cancer Council. Skin cancer incidence and mortality [Version URL: http://wiki.cancer.org.au/skincancerstats_mw/index.php?title=Skin_cancer_incidence_and_mortality&oldid=534, cited 2015 Feb 26].
