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Previous: Specialist clinics
Previous: Specialist clinics
Would it better and possibly cheaper to go and see a dermatologist who can remove suspicious looking moles immediately rather than first getting the moles mapped by technicians who have not medical training.
It would be best to have your moles checked by a specialist but for people in smaller towns and rural areas this would be difficult and expensive. The NZ Dermatological Society website, dermnet.org.nz, lists only 54 dermatologists (with long waiting lists) for the whole of New Zealand. Mole mapping techniqes mean that your moles can be scanned and downloaded to a computer to be examined by a dermatologist in another city.
Of course, you need to check what training the technician has received. While they may not have had full medical training, technicians should have received training and supervision in identifying and scanning suspicious moles.
Regards
Bev Frederikson
Technical writer
Hi Bev, your advice is wrong. There is no evidence that a Dermatologist is any better at diagnosing skin cancer than a GP and there is certainly no long waiting list to see one. You have made such a mess of this whole topic. Why not just print the facts rather than your opinion?
As a high risk person I have baulked at the $300 cost I found a MoleMap would cost me. I would rather go to my GP, BUT the big factor there is how (in-)experienced (or jaded?) the GP is. Take your chances anyway I guess, though I simply cannot envisage my own GP being very thorough. My mum had a bad mole in between her toes - who's going to check there?
I've had mole maps for a number of years now and have found them to be very thorough and professional + I like that fact that my moles are stored for ongoing assessment by a specialist. I have spoken to a couple doctor friends of mine who said that there are studies that highlight that screening picks up earlier / thinner melanomas and that thinner melanomas are ultimately linked to better survival.
Hi Consumer Org,
as the comments here show we need more info to judge how to monitor our moles and risks/non risks. Can you please seek feedback from the NZ Cancer society or other medical society who has expert knowledge on the area, and then make another posting to us?
Thanks
Without addressing this question, this section on mole mapping fails to inform consumers. Sending a secret assessor is a poor assessment methodology for it cannot assess the technical aspects of this type of screening. It would be better to refer to the research which has failed to show that mole mapping saves lives. To quote from the Australasian Melanoma Guidelines
"In the absence of substantive evidence as to its effectiveness in reducing
mortality from melanoma, population-based skin screening cannot be recommended"
http://www.nzgg.org.nz/guidelines/dsp_guideline_popup.cfm?guidelineCatID=7&guidelineID=141
I have been to Molecheck in Remuera and they were very thorough. He looked at every spot, mole , mark through a small dermoscope and recommeneded what to take out and what to observe. He was a Doctor and used liquid nitrogen on the ones not cancerous. Every spot he marked for excision was a BCC.
I have had mole maps done for several years now. Last time I asked them to check a mark on my face. they took photos and the all clear come back. It turned out to actually be skin cancer. Now have doubts as to how good this is, over actually visiting a speciallist.
having had 2 melonamas removed I thought it prudent to have a mole check.
I decided on "Mole Watch" that is exactly what it does.. They watch...They photographed my entire body, told me I had several very suspicious moles & needed another checkup with them 3 months later. I did this & was then told all the suspicious ones were fine.
When I queried this the technician was very blasse & didnt really have an answer.
When melanoma can be such a killer I was really upset by their scheme & feel that their technicians are perhaps not as qualified as they should be,
I should also add my daughter also had a check at the same time & was also told she had several suspicious moles & one that needed urgent biopsy. She had this done & the result was completely negative. I honestly feel that this firm need to get their act together & either employ qualified technicians, or stop needlessly frightening people into completely uneccessary operations & huge wasted expense.
I now use mole check but like the others their charges really are over the top, Im scared of more melanomas so am very vulnerable but $440.00 a year for a superannuitant is crippling