Skin Checks

Skin check services for melanoma and skin cancers

New Zealand has one of the highest rates of skin cancers and melanomas in the world. As such, we advise getting your skin checked annually. We can undertake skin checks as part of annual check-ups but please let us know straight away if you have a skin concern.

How to assess a skin cancer concern

Melanoma is the most aggressive of all skin cancers and is therefore the one to keep an eye out for.

How to check your skin

The 'ABCDE' of melanoma is an acronym designed to help you identify features in a skin lesion that may suggest an early stage melanoma. If you notice any of these features in your skin, we encourage you to make a skin check appointment as soon as possible.

  • Asymmetry

  • Border irregularity

  • Colour variability/Change

  • Different

  • Evolving

There’s also the ‘EFG’ of melanoma:

  • Elevated

  • Firm

  • Growing

For more detail, we recommend this webpage:

https://dermnetnz.org/topics/abcdes-of-melanoma