‘Mole Mobile’: Mobile skin cancer unit rolls through Barrie

Melanoma Canada’s mobile skin cancer screening unit has rolled into Simcoe County.

A first of its kind in Canada, the Mole Mobile is parked in the Barrie Nissan parking lot at 630 Veterans Drive until 4 p.m. Friday.

The Barrie stop is one of many stops as it makes its way throughout the county visiting Canadian cities with long wait times to see a dermatologist.

Melanoma Canada said the service focuses on underserved communities, rural and Indigenous regions “to help speed up the time to diagnosis, which is vital to improving outcomes for patients.”

Melanoma and skin cancer incidence rates are rising in Canada and worldwide, according to Melanoma Canada, at an average rate of 1.4 per cent each year over the past 10 years.

Its goal for the Mole Mobile is to conduct 25,000 skin checks every summer, helping thousands of Canadians to get care and using it as an education platform such as sun safety and prevention.

For further information about the mobile unit and its schedule, visit their website.