News
Gold standard for Queensland’s north in the face of skin cancer
Feb 10, 2021
Cairns Day Surgery has Australia’s only Mohs surgeon north of Brisbane, offering specialty surgery for removal of trickier skin cancers on the face.
As the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia, around two in three Aussies will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer before the age of 701.
Given that Queensland is the skin cancer capital of the world, skin cancer removal surgery is a frequent occurrence, however, can be quite invasive and often requires a significant removal of tissue surrounding the cancer.
Luckily, skin cancer removal techniques are evolving. Dr Simon Tucker is Cairns’ only private dermatologist and practices a highly specialised technique known as Mohs surgery.
Mohs surgery can be used for removal of trickier skin cancers (BCCs and SCCs) on the face. Mohs surgery ensures the greatest chance (over 95%)2 of complete removal of the cancer, while also allowing the surgeon to preserve the maximum amount of healthy skin surrounding it.
By only removing a 1mm margin surrounding the cancer, as opposed to the usual 4mm taken during traditional removals, the wound can be as small as possible and scarring can be kept to a minimum.
“We use a highly calibrated machine to complete the procedure and analyse the excision on site immediately following the procedure, so that patients know in just 30 minutes if the cancer has been removed entirely.
“Mohs surgery delivers the highest cure rate (over 95%) of all methods of skin cancer removal, compared with 93% for biopsy and later pathology,” Dr Tucker said.
As the only Mohs surgeon north of Brisbane, Dr Tucker even sees patients from Papua New Guinea and the Islands.
Ramsay Health Care is encouraging Aussies to wear SPF 50+ and a hat every day, and get their skin checked.
1 https://cancerqld.org.au/cancer-information/types-of-cancer/skin-cancer/
2 Australasian College of Dermatologists
