SkinSure

19/09/2026

🎨 BCC DOESN'T ALWAYS LOOK THE SAME — KNOW THE MANY FACES OF SKIN CANCER

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common skin cancer in New Zealand — but it rarely looks the same from person to person. That's why even a small, innocent-looking spot deserves a proper check. Here are the main "faces" BCC can wear:

🔹 Nodular BCC
A shiny, pearly pink or flesh-coloured bump with tiny blood vessels on the surface. Often on the nose, cheek or forehead. May bleed easily and develop a central ulcer with rolled edges.

🔹 Superficial BCC
A pink or red, slightly scaly patch that can look a bit like eczema or psoriasis. Common on the shoulders, chest and back — often in younger people.

🔹 Morphoeic / sclerosing BCC
A firm, waxy, scar-like plaque with unclear edges, often on the mid-face. The trickiest type — it can spread wider and deeper than it looks.

🔹 Pigmented BCC
Brown, blue or black in colour — can mimic a mole or melanoma. More common in people with darker skin types.

🔹 Aggressive variants (micronodular, infiltrative)
Can look deceptively normal with firm, yellowish or ill-defined borders, but have higher risk of recurrence.

🔍 Why it matters
BCC is driven mainly by sun exposure, especially intermittent intense UV and sunburn — and New Zealand has some of the highest UV levels in the world.

👩‍🦰 Not just an "older person's" cancer
BCC is uncommon under 40, but it's happening more often in younger Kiwis — and it's rising fastest in young women, linked to sunburns, sunbed use and outdoor sun exposure. If you have fair skin, red or blonde hair, freckles, a history of blistering sunburns, sunbed use, or a family history of skin cancer — don't wait until you're 50 to get checked.

⚠️ Red flags worth getting checked:
- A spot that bleeds, crusts or won't heal
- A new shiny bump or flat patch
- A scar-like area that appears without injury
- A change in a previously normal area of skin

☀️ How to stay SkinSure — sunscreen alone isn't enough
- Physical protection first: seek shade, wear a broad-brimmed hat and tightly woven dark clothing with UPF rating. In practice these cut your UV exposure more reliably than sunscreen alone.
- Then sunscreen, every 2 hours: SPF 50+ broad-spectrum, applied generously 20 minutes before going out and reapplied every 2 hours (or after swimming, sweating or towelling). Most people under-apply, so reapplication matters.
- Be especially careful 10am–4pm during NZ summer.
- Regular skin checks, especially if you've had a previous skin cancer (there's a 30–77% chance of another BCC within 3 years) https://dermnetnz.org/topics/basal-cell-carcinoma-in-skin-of-colour.

📍 Book your skin check with SkinSure today — early detection makes treatment simpler and keeps your skin looking its best.
👉 www.skinsure.co.nz



Photos are educational only and cannot confirm a diagnosis.

☀️ Protect your skin with shade, covering clothing, a broad-brimmed hat and broad-spectrum SPF 50+ sunscreen. Reapply sunscreen every two hours and after swimming, sweating or towelling.

📍 Concerned about a spot? Book a professional skin assessment with SkinSure:
👉 www.skinsure.co.nz

Learn more from DermNet NZ:
👉 https://dermnetnz.org/topics/basal-cell-carcinoma



Basal Cell Carcinoma: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment — DermNet https://share.google/ZGWzfun2eLzIpp28J

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15/09/2026

☀️ KNOW YOUR UV INDEX, KNOW YOUR SKIN ☀️

Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, our UV levels are some of the highest in the world — even on cloudy days. But what does the UV Index actually mean for your skin?

**What's the UV Index?**
It's a simple scale (0–11+) that tells you how strong the sun's UV rays are on any given day. You can check it on NIWA, your weather app, or at https://www.sunsmart.org.nz/

- ☀️ **Low (0–2):** No protection needed.
- 🟡 **Moderate to High (3–7):** Be SunSmart. Protect exposed skin.
- 🔴 **Very High (8–10) / Extreme (11+):** Everyone should try to avoid the sun between 10am and 4pm. If you can't, then slip, slop, slap and wrap — regardless of skin type.

The general rule: When the UV Index hits **3 or above**, it's time to slip, slop, slap, and wrap — regardless of your skin type.

Skin types matter too!

The Fitzpatrick scale groups skin into 6 types based on how it responds to UV:

- Type I (very fair): Always burns, never tans
- Type II (fair): Burns easily, tans poorly
- Type III (medium): Tans after initial burn
- Type IV (olive): Burns minimally, tans easily
- Type V (brown): Rarely burns, tans darkly
- Type VI (dark brown/black): Never burns, always tans darkly

💡 The key message: Fairer skin types burn and damage faster, but **all skin types can get skin cancer** — including melanoma. UV can also cause skin ageing and hyperpigmentation in darker skin types.

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Our SunSmart tips for Canterbury

- **Slip** into shade, especially 11am–3pm in summer
- **Slop** on SPF 50 broad-spectrum sunscreen every 2 hours
- **Slap** on a wide-brimmed hat
- **Wrap** on UV-protective sunglasses
- Cover up with tightly-woven, UPF-rated clothing
- Check your own skin regularly and book in for your skin check!

Book your skin check today = early detection can help reduce risk and improve outcomes.
📞 021 086 46332
🌐 www.skinsure.co.nz

ℹ️ This post is for general information and education only. It does not replace individual medical advice. If you have concerns about your skin or notice any new or changing spots, please book a skin check.

https://share.google/WOg5Mi2vPu6yt5yoI

12/09/2026

03/09/2026

"Can you tell a mole from a melanoma?

This can be incredibly tricky, as some melanomas can masquerade as benign moles, and vice versa.
Atypical naevi—or abnormal-appearing moles—are common, and the real challenge lies in distinguishing them from early skin cancers.
This is where total body photography and digital dermoscopy become essential. Through short-term sequential monitoring, we can capture high-resolution images and compare them side by side, detecting subtle microscopic changes that may suggest melanoma and prompt an early excision.
However, because everyone has a unique risk profile, active monitoring isn't always the right approach for every spot. The decision to 'watch and wait' versus choosing a surgical excision should always be a collaborative decision between a dermoscopy-trained clinician and the patient.

Annual mole checks incorporating total body imaging are vital for mapping new lesions and tracking changes in existing ones.

While most of us regularly visit the doctor, dentist, optometrist, or audiologist, we often neglect our skin—our body's largest organ. Professional skin checks need to become a standard part of our routine healthcare monitoring."

02/09/2026

The dermatoscope allows us to see vessels and structures not visible to the naked eye. The dermatoscope in the hands of a trained professional can aid in diagnosis of malignant lesions such as squamous cell carcinoma.

THE MANY FACES OF SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA (SCC)

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a common type of keratinocyte cancer, mainly affecting those aged over 50 and is more prominent in males.

Other risk factors::

Unprotected exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or tanning beds.
Those on certain immunosuppressive medications.
History of skin cancer.
Pale skin or skin that burns easily
Chronic infections and skin inflammation from burns, scars and other conditions.
Skin precancers including actinic keratosis.
Some SCCs are associated with the HPV virus

Squamous cell carcinoma can look very different from one person to another — and sometimes it can be surprisingly subtle.

It may appear as:

🔴 A scaly or rough patch
🩸 A sore that repeatedly bleeds or won’t heal
🟤 A crusted or keratotic growth
💗 A firm, raised lump
🌸 A red, inflamed or tender area
⚪ A thickened area of skin
👂 A lesion on the ear, scalp, face, lips or other sun-exposed areas

Some SCCs are easy to recognise. Others can look like a harmless sunspot, eczema, an irritated area or a non-specific skin lesion.

**That’s why a changing, growing, bleeding, crusting or non-healing lesion deserves attention.**

Regular skin checks and dermatoscopic assessment can help identify suspicious lesions earlier.

☀️ **Know your skin. Check your skin. Don’t ignore changes.**

If you have a spot that you're concerned about, book a professional skin assessment @ www.skinsure.co.nz

*This post is for education only and is not a diagnosis. Any concerning skin lesion should be assessed by an appropriately qualified health professional.*


https://dermnetnz.org/imagedetail/16385-white-structureless-areas-central-keratin-and-loop-vessels-in-squamous-cell-carcinoma-dermoscopy