Bathurst Skin Cancer and Cosmedical Clinic is calling on locals to get their skin checked, after a rise in melanoma cases.
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Twelves locals have been diagnosed with melanoma within the clinic in 2019, including five cases in the past two weeks.
Manager Pamela Johnson said the rates of skin cancer have gone up in the past three years.
"What we're finding is out clients are being more vigilant with their check-ups," she said.
"A 30 minute check can save your life.
"If your worried about something, go and get it check. It could be benign but you should still go and get it checked out anyway.
"Melanomas can have no symptoms and you don't have to be exposed to the sun to get them. You could have a gene defect or a history of it in your family."
There are three types of skin cancer - basel cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.
Ms Johnson explained that basel cell carcinoma cancers cannot not spread to other parts of the body, but can grow quite large if not picked up by screening.
Squamous cell carcinoma can spread to other organs, while melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer.
People can live with the two types of carcinomas for years without knowing, however, the sooner they are detected, the better.
Ms Johnson recommends every Australian to get their skin checked every 12 months and if you have a history of skin cancer, every six months.
"Nine out of 10 skin cancers cases are in the earliest stage, meaning they can be treated much easier. You could be able to come in and have it removed," she said.
The most recent available stats from the Cancer Institute NSW - from between 2011 and 2015 - 111 people in the Bathurst Region local government area had been diagnosed with melanoma.
In that same time period, 12 deaths were attributed to melanoma.
The most common cancer diagnosis was prostate cancer, with 202, ahead of breast cancer, with 139, and then melanoma.
However, lung cancer was the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in Bathurst with 77.
According to the Melanoma Institute Australia, one in 14 men and one in 24 women will be diagnosed with melanoma sometime in their life.
To book a skin check, contact the clinic at 6332 1745.