The scan has picked up 145 different marks, moles and freckles on my skin, two of which are flagged as potentially dangerous.
The machine using AI to scan moles feels similar to the experience of a full body scanner at the airport.
Any moles the scan flags as concerning are then investigated by Gunn with a dermascope tool and further imaged. If a removal surgery is necessary, the patient will be informed.
Skin cancer specialist and surgeon associate professor Richard Martin says New Zealand has lagged behind Australia in its approach to skin cancer and has been slower to fund treatment drugs and build up strong awareness campaigns.
He says Australia now has 33 of these machines whereas New Zealand has only one – the cost of the machine is about $800,000.
Accessing skin specialists in New Zealand is a huge problem and there can be a three or four-month wait for an appointment, he says.
This is despite the fact New Zealand has one of the highest rates of skin cancer incidence and mortality in the world.
Nearly 100,000 Kiwis are diagnosed, and hundreds of people die, each year from skin cancer. Last year the cost for the country of skin cancer was estimated at $494.92 million.
Gunn says it concerns her deeply to see TikTok trends encouraging young women to check when the daily UV level is at its highest on their phones and heading outside to get “the best tan”.
An obsession with tanning is something Gunn grew up with but she now sees older women who have spent their younger years slathered in oil in harsh sunlight and are facing the consequences with countless moles and potential melanoma.
“That’s just crazy, we know better,” she says.
“Young people think they’re bulletproof, but we know that the sun causes cancer. A tan is considered cool, but the damage done in your youth is what you will pay for when you’re older.
“There are really good self-tanning products out there, so use them instead.”
Martin says AI is being used by the Vectra machine to scan each mole for atypical borders, size, colour and to select for high-risk moles.
Sunbathing and tanning increase the risk of skin cancer. Photo / Thinkstock
While there is excitement about how AI can help detect moles there is also scepticism. An academic study from Belgium published last year questioned the effectiveness of the technology and said it is yet replace the expertise of trained clinicians.
But Martin believes AI is unmatched in detecting mole changes after follow-up scans, which are extremely difficult for the human eye to see.
Gunn says anyone can get skin cancer and darker skin colours do not have more protection. In fact, people with darker skin are more likely to get melanoma on the palms of their hands or soles of their feet, she says.
She has found melanomas that are only a millimetre or two in diameter and look like a freckle to a normal person, but if left in place, could lead to death.
It is almost impossible to find early melanoma in black tattoo ink, and this is a growing concern for Gunn.
“You look at the latest trend for tattoos and it’s solid black sleeves, if you grew a one-millimetre melanoma in that black ink we wouldn’t find it.”
Clare Gunn uses a dermascope tool to examine a patient’s mole.
Some tattoo artists can work around a mole, but Gunn says this isn’t a preventive measure as most melanoma arises as something new in skin and can grow through ink, which means people need to be more aware of the risk they face when getting tattoos.
For people with many moles, the scan can save a huge amount of time, as it is faster than traditional skin checks. Gunn says that recently, one person had 2800 lesions imaged on the scan, which a human could never have captured.
The cost of a Vectra machine scan is $185-$449, depending on a patient’s needs and whether they have been seen by a skin specialist or require a full skin cancer check.
Gunn says people should always look out for new moles, moles that are changing, or any marks on their skin that look different from anything else, as these could be potential skin cancers.
Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.