16 May 2025
Today at the Australasian Skin Cancer Congress held on the Gold Coast, the Queensland Deputy Premier, Hon Jarrod Bleijie, attending alongside his mum Christine, a melanoma survivor, announced a new lifesaving initiative which will support 12 General Practitioners based in regional Queensland to access world-leading education to help them better detect and treat the potentially deadly disease.
Queensland has the highest rate of both melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, making it the skin cancer capital of the world.
The initiative, which will be delivered and jointly funded by Skin Cancer College Australasia and Queensland Health through CheckUP’s Skin Cancer Early Detection (SCED) program, aims to upskill GPs based in rural, regional, and remote locations where such services are limited or non-existent.
Deputy Premier Bleijie said skin cancer impacted thousands of Queensland families, including his own.
“We were all shocked when my Mum was diagnosed with melanoma in 1993,” he said.
“It started as a small, itchy mole on her back, which was removed. However, the melanoma sadly returned 13 years later as a stage 3 diagnosis. Her treatment required more surgery and the only further option at the time was to join a clinical trial to try and stop the spread of the deadly disease. We know thousands of Queenslanders have a similar story and as a Government, we are committed to improving the early detection and treatment of skin cancer for more families, just like mine.”
Christine Bleijie survived and has subsequently dedicated her life to support other people facing a diagnosis of melanoma across Australia by volunteering with Melanoma Patients Australia.
Victoria Beedle, CEO of Skin Cancer College Australasia said, “We congratulate and thank the Queensland Government for supporting this initiative. Providing high quality education on the
detection and treatment of skin cancer to our general practitioners in rural and regional areas could not be more important as they are often the only medical professional that patients can access, and we know that an accurate diagnosis can be a matter of life or death.”
CheckUP’s CEO, Ann Maree Liddy said: “The Skin Cancer Early Detection Program is focused on creating fairer access to professional assessment and treatment of skin cancer for Queenslanders most in need and our new joint initiative will mean more doctors have access to high quality education they need to accurately diagnose and treat skin cancers early.”
Since the SCED program commenced in mid-2023, 1,957 Queenslanders living in rural and remote communities have accessed a skin cancer early detection clinic and had their skin checked. Of these patients, 563 received treatment for suspected skin cancers with 67% of these patients having histologically proven cancers detected.
The Skin Cancer Early Detection Program is proudly supported by the Queensland Government.
To find out more about the available scholarships for General Practitioners and how to access them visit Critical Skin Cancer Education Scholarships now available or email education@skincancercollege.org
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The Skin Cancer College Australasia provides a strong and collective voice to skin cancer medicine practitioners across Australia and New Zealand. We lead education excellence in the Trans-Tasman region. We aim to ensure high quality, equitable access to the diagnosis, treatment and ongoing management of skin cancer to patients and communities across Australia and New Zealand.
CheckUP is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of people and communities in need, especially those in rural, regional, and remote areas. We are committed to advancing equity in healthcare by strategically collaborating at both regional and local levels, ensuring that health and community services are more accessible and responsive to people who need them most.
