Routine check-up caught hidden killer
A routine house call for a bout of bronchitis has potentially saved the life of Christine Saunders.
The sixty-seven-year old Bundaberg woman is thanking her lucky stars, and House Call Doctor Tridiv Madhok, after he spotted the cancerous mole on her back that lead to surgery.
“My call was for a bronchial condition and as the doctor was checking my back with his stethoscope he suggested that I see my GP ‘as soon as possible’ regarding a mole on my shoulder,” she said.
Mrs Saunders took the advice of her House Call Doctor and followed up with her regular GP who removed the mole to “be on the safe side”.
She said pathology results confirmed it was a malignant skin cancer and she underwent further surgery but was given the all clear on Thursday.
“When my doctor told me it was indeed skin cancer, he advised me to ‘buy that House Call Doctor a beer’,” she said.
“The outcome is so much better than it would have been in 10 months time when I have my usual skin check-up.”
“My heartfelt thanks goes to the House Call Doctor who came to see me.”
Dr Madhok said he recognised the skin cancer due to the mole’s irregularity and urged others to regularly check their skin.
“The mole looked a bit sinister to me and I thought it needed to be looked at straight away,” he said.
More than 13,000 new cases of melanoma skin cancer were diagnosed in Australia last year.
Federal Government cancer statistics show one in 18 people will be diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer by the age of 85.
Mrs Saunders said her time in the sun during her younger years had caught up with her and this experience had made her realise how important it was to continually check her skin.
“I grew up in a time where baby oil was all the rage and the browner you were, the better you were,” she said.
“It’s not like that now.
“As Australians we are always being taught to be so careful because we have a killer sun.”
“I would urge everyone to do all of those things like wear a hat, sunscreen, check your skin and look after yourself.”
House Call Doctor Bundaberg area manager Kurt De Silva said the doctors who made home visits for House Call Doctor were local GPs and doctors who work in hospitals.
“It is high quality care and to people like Mrs Saunders and the hundreds of thousands of the young and elderly who we treat it is an essential Medicare service. It is Medicare at home,” he said.
House Call Doctor treats patients in their homes after 6pm every weeknight, from midday on a Saturday and across the weekend to 8am Monday morning.
Original source: News Mail | Ashley Clark | 18 Feb 2017
