SCC originates in the spinosum or melphighian part of the top layer of the skin. 

Sun Spots The majority of the SCC’s arises from “sun spots”- these red and scaly spots on the sun exposed part of the skin if left can progress into a SCC. It is common to have those “frozen off” at your doctor but those that persist need closer attention.

Much like BCCs, SCCs can be divided into a low risk form (well differentiated) and aggressive forms (poorly differentiated) with grades of aggressiveness in between.

The poorer the biology of the disease the more aggressive the treatment must be, because it can often travel in lymph channels into nearby lymph glands and it can also travel to nearby nerves.

REGULAR SKIN CHECKS ARE A MUST

Left untreated Basal Cell Carcinoma will continue to grow and become more difficult to treat. Regular skin checks will help prevent this from happening.

Melanocytes are cells in your skin that act to protect your skin from harmful effects of the sun by providing “window shading” of sorts. Sometimes these melanocytes turn into cancer and these are called Melanoma.

Melanoma if left untreated can be dangerous and even fatal. This is because when melanocyte turn into cancer in the top layer of skin it begins to burrow downwards into deeper tissues.

Once it starts to invade into deeper tissues it can travel to local lymph glands and even distant organs such as brain and liver.

Regular Checkups It is crucial to have a regular skin check especially if you have had melanoma in the past or you have a family history of melanoma.

If caught early it can be treated safely and effectively with surgery.

MEMORIZE THE BELOW A B C D E OF MELANOMA
One feature from below doesn’t necessarily mean it is melanoma, but you need to watch out for signs of change.

A- Asymmetry. If you can’t divide the dark spot into 2 equal halves it’s a warning sign. For example a perfect circle is better than a map of Australia.

B- Border. A clear border, where you can easily tell “this is where the dark spot stops and this is where the normal skin begins” is a good thing. If the edges or the border looks like someone had spilt ink it is a warning sign.

C- Colour. One uniform colour of say light brown is okay. Multiple colour’s of red, blue and black is not.

D- Diameter greater than 6mm. Bigger than 6mm of greatest dimension needs a closer look.

E- Elevation (it’s raised) or Evolution–
Is  it Changing.

If you’ve had a dark spot that is changing, see us IMMEDIATELY, we will fit you in.

Contact Us for a Timely Appointment

Treatment needs to be individually tailored to each person.  The biology of the skin cancer, the location of the tumor and the circumstance of each person must be considered.  Ask us and we will explain the steps for you.

Once a diagnosis is made, a tailored planned will be made specifically for you.
The above are examples only.  You must consult a specialist prior to embarking upon treatment.

Treatment may consist of:

Non surgical options- include topical creams, light therapy, radiotherapy

Surgery – Excision and reconstruction but also curette and electrocautery.

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Each skin cancer, its treatment and reconstruction will be tailored to you.  Generally, there are four surgical options.

Direct closure (also known as Primary Closure)- The direction of the resulting scar is crucial in achieving the optimal cosmesis. The resulting defect after the skin cancer has been removed are brought together in a single line.

Local flap closure– by “borrowing” local tissue and rearranging the tissue we are able to reconstruct the defect from the skin cancer surgery. There are many different types of local flaps and needs to be carefully chosen for the given location on the body.

Skin graft– In essence it is a skin transplant where we “harvest” skin from one site and put it on another. It may be a thin skin in case of “split skin graft” or the full depth of skin called “full thickness” skin graft. These different types of skin grafts need to be carefully selected for that location on that particular patient.

Distant flap closure – in some cases, usually large cancers there may not be enough local tissue to be able to reconstruct the defect. In this case we borrow from a distant site for reconstruction. This is common place in case of large head and neck cancers as well as breast reconstructions.

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Following surgery we embark upon a rigorous scar management strategy to optimise the resulting scars. Feel free to read our scar management advice under Patient Resources Section.

We continue to see you, guide your resultant scar and monitor to see if further interventions are needed. Contact Us for more information

What happens after surgery?

Please read our Patient Resources Section, it outlines what happens when you have surgery with us.

You will receive a postoperative instruction sheet right after your surgery. Then when your wound has healed and cancer long gone you will receive another Scar instruction sheet designed to maximise the cosmetic appearance of the scar.

Of course, you will be seen again down the line by Dr Kim to see whether we can do anything else to optimise your scar.

Yes there is a very brief discomfort with any injection. But there are a number of things we do to make it easier.

We warm up the local anaesthetic agent.  We use an extremely fine needle and inject very slowly. After the initial dose is given, we wait for it to work before any further anaesthetic is administered.  This is all part of making you experience a little better. 

We even treat children under local anaesthetic to save them from having a general anaesthetic.  And if you prefer, we ask for a help from Specialist Anaethetists in accredited hospitals.

We’re here to look after you and make you as comfortable as possible.