Skin Check Mackay: Meet The Doctors Behind Your Skin Cancer Check

Yes – in Australia, a GP can perform a skin check. For most patients, this is the standard first step in skin cancer detection. GPs are trained to visually and dermoscopically examine moles, freckles and lesions, identify features that look suspicious and refer for biopsy or excision where needed. What varies significantly is experience. Some GPs perform occasional skin checks alongside general consultations. Others, like the doctors at Health Hub Mackay, have built decades of specific interest and clinical volume around skin cancer detection.

That difference matters. Melanoma can closely resemble a harmless mole in its early stages, and picking up subtle changes takes repetition – seeing thousands of moles across thousands of patients, not dozens. Every skin cancer doctor Mackay patients see at Health Hub Mackay has a specific interest in skin cancer detection and management, which is why so many locals choose to book here specifically rather than default to whichever GP has the next available slot.

Dr John Goldston has worked in cosmetic and skin cancer medicine since 1985, giving him decades of focused clinical experience. He's a Registered Specialist General Practitioner majoring in skin cancer management and a member of the Australian College of Cosmetic Physicians. Over that time, Dr Goldston has pioneered several of the techniques used in skin cancer detection and cosmetic treatment now applied across the Mackay and Whitsunday region.

For patients, this depth of experience translates into pattern recognition that's difficult to shortcut. Dr Goldston has seen how moles and lesions present, change and behave over decades of regional practice – knowledge that shapes every check he performs, not just the technology used alongside it.

Dr Graeme Cumming brings a different but equally important strength to the clinic. After completing his Bachelor of Medicine at the University of Newcastle and training through Ipswich Hospital, the Mater Children's Hospital in Brisbane and a GP Registrar placement in Gladstone, Dr Cumming earned his Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. He relocated to Mackay in 2007 and has since become a long-standing part of the Health Hub Mackay team, including a stint as Lead GP Supervisor.

With over 25 years of experience, Dr Cumming's ongoing interest in skin cancer means he stays closely engaged with the tools and techniques used for early detection, working hands-on with the practice's mole-mapping equipment as part of his regular patient care.

A skin check at Health Hub Mackay generally follows the same core process used across Australian general practice, refined by the doctors' specific experience:

• Initial consultation. The doctor may ask about your sun exposure history, family history of skin cancer and any moles or spots you're personally concerned about.
• Full-body visual examination. The doctor checks skin from scalp to soles, including areas patients rarely inspect themselves.
• Dermoscopic magnification. Suspicious spots are examined more closely using magnification to look beneath the surface layer of the skin.
• Mole mapping where needed. For patients with a higher number of moles or a personal or family history of melanoma, photographic mapping may help track subtle changes between visits over time.
• Next steps. If something looks concerning, the doctor discusses biopsy, excision or a shorter review interval – all explained clearly before any action is taken.

At Health Hub Mackay, this process is supported by the Heine Cube skin surveillance system, a dermoscopy tool that magnifies pigmented lesions and enables precise photographic mapping of individual moles. It's one part of a broader assessment – not a replacement for the doctor's own examination and judgement, which is where decades of clinical experience genuinely come into play.

Curious what your doctor is actually looking for? Read how skin checks help detect skin cancer early for a closer look at the detection process itself.

Technically, ‘skin specialist’ can mean different things – a dermatologist, a cosmetic physician or a GP with a special interest in skin cancer management, which is the category Dr Goldston and Dr Cumming fall into. For most patients, a GP with genuine, sustained experience in skin cancer detection offers a faster path to care than waiting for a dermatologist referral, while still bringing real depth of knowledge to the examination.

If you're comparing providers for a skin check Mackay appointment, it's worth asking directly: how long has this doctor been doing skin checks, and do they have a specific interest in skin cancer? At Health Hub Mackay, both answers are on record – decades of combined experience and mole-mapping equipment used as a matter of routine rather than as an occasional add-on.

See the full team of doctors in Mackay, including our skin specialists, on our doctors page.

If you're weighing up who should perform your next skin check, experience and consistency matter as much as the equipment used. Dr Goldston's 50 years in skin cancer medicine and Dr Cumming's ongoing focus on the area mean your check is backed by genuine clinical depth, not just a checklist. Book your skin check appointment with Health Hub Mackay and get seen by doctors who've spent years building exactly this kind of expertise.

For more on what to expect from your visit, browse our blog.