Doctors diagnose 60 cases of skin cancer during one-day clinic in Ottawa

Doctors diagnosed more than 60 cases of skin cancer during a free skin check clinic in Ottawa on Sunday.

A group of dermatologists volunteered their time to host the clinic at the Ottawa Derm Centre as part of a fundraiser for the Mohs Skin Cancer Surgery expansion campaign at the Ottawa Hospital.

"We have seen a tremendous increase in skin cancer recently, partially because of the pandemic," said Dr. Mark Kirchhof, head of dermatology for the Ottawa Hospital. "People have obviously missed some of their medical appointments."

Dr. Kirchhof said more than 300 people were seen by physicians at the five-hour clinic.

"We have diagnosed 10 cases of melanoma, which are the most serious form of skin cancer,” he said. "Some of the patients have had very advanced disease, to the point that we have had to put them into a clinic tomorrow."

He said they diagnosed around 50 cases of basal cell carcinoma, another type of skin cancer that is not as severe.

"We are wondering, just taking a random assortment of people and finding this many skin cancers, how many other people are out there who have skin cancer and who are going undiagnosed," Dr. Kirchhof said.

Dr. Kirchhof said the clinic was eye opening and the prevalence of skin cancer diagnoses more common than within his practice.

"Skin cancer is extremely prevalent and we have a lot of patients specifically in age 50 and above that get basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, those are the most common types of skin cancers," said Dr. Jillian MacDonald, a dermatologist with the Ottawa Hospital. 

Kinja Brunet booked an appointment because of a history of skin cancer in her family.

"One of the main reasons is also because my skin is fair, so on top of using the sunscreen, I find the check-ups are really helpful," she said.

Brunet said waiting for her family doctor to do the check-up was not always accessible.

"You find it’s not as accessible or maybe you feel that you are using the doctor's time for something that is not urgent," Brunet said.

Brunet said the process at the clinic was quick and brought her relief. 

The majority of patients at Sunday’s skin check clinic do not have a family doctor, and experienced difficulty getting a referral to a dermatologist.

"We don’t have a lot of family doctors anymore and so patients are ending up in the emergency room with skin cancer and it’s obviously much later in the process, which is more difficult to treat," Dr. Kirchhof said.

He said in those cases, patients may have cancer that has become more advanced and some of the simpler treatments that can usually be easily applied to skin cancer are no longer available.

"Quite often we can cut out the skin cancer and it’s cured, but if it’s more advanced, they might require chemotherapy or radiation," he said.

Raquel Beauvais-Godard travelled to the clinic on West Hunt Club Road from Cornwall, more than an hour drive from home.

"It probably would’ve taken over a year from where I’m from to see a dermatologist," she said. "It’s about a year to two-year wait list just to get in, so this was really wonderful."

Dr. MacDonald said her wait list for skin cancer surgery is currently six to eight months, but ideally she would like to get it down to three months in order to have people treated right away while their cancers are small.

"We are raising money to expand that," she said.

The goal of the Mohs Skin Cancer Surgery expansion campaign is to expand the surgery centre from three days a week to five days a week, with a fundraising target of $500,000.