Mole mobile returns to Nanaimo for free skin cancer screenings

The Mole Mobile will be in Nanaimo from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Walmart parking lot at Woodgrove Centre, and then in Duncan at their Walmart over the same time period on Sunday on Drinkwater Rd.

The event is open to all ages on a first-come, first-served basis, and potential patients are encouraged to arrive early and bring their healthcare service card in case they need to be referred to another physician for further treatment.

A dermatologist based in Nanaimo for over 20 years, Dr. Weichert has held pop-up skin cancer screenings in the past but told NanaimoNewsNOW she was surprised to identify around one out of ten patients with skin cancer during last year’s Mole Mobile.

“When they come to these events, they’re not just curious…they literally have specific concerns about things that are growing on their skin and they’re uncertain where to go, and that’s really worrisome for me.”

Early detection is key to stopping skin cancer from spreading, with hundreds of people lining up for the Mole Mobile across Vancouver Island last year. (Image Credit: Mole Mobile on Facebook.)

For the first time this year, Mole Mobiles will visit every Canadian province, with more than 130 stops planned from May to October.

Rates of new melanoma cases have been rising by an average of 1.4 per cent a year in the last decade, with one in three cancers diagnosed being skin cancer, according to CDC statistics from 2016.

Dr. Weichert said melanoma is a big concern, as it can spread internally and be life-threatening, and treatment isn’t as simple as removing something from your skin.

“We really are encouraging people to educate themselves about the concept of what skin cancer can look like, and then to check their skin and to be sun conscious and safe with respect to their sun exposure.”

Skin cancers remain the most common cancer diagnosis in Canadian men over the age of 49, and are among the most common among youth and young adults, but they’re also largely treatable with early detection. (Image Credit: Mole Mobile on Facebook.)

Dr. Weichert said residents of Coastal B.C. love the outdoors, with many local professions, such as forestry, marine, and tourism, requiring a lot of time spent outdoors.

“I continue to encourage people to take advantage of our beautiful coastal B.C., but we just want to be smart. We want to have people wear hats and wear sunscreen where they’re exposed so they minimize the sun damage that we’re seeing. Sometimes, as early as their late 30s or early 40s…who are coming in with skin cancers.”

She also emphasized how dermatology services in Canada are “very poorly supported” compared to other similar countries around the world, and more community advocacy is needed for change.

More information on how to identify skin cancer, and to support and learn more about the Canadian Dermatology Association, can be found here at dermatology.ca

According to a release, the Mole Mobile has screened and provided to almost 15,000 Canadians since its launch in 2023, identifying over 1,700 suspicious lesions.

In 2024, they found almost 1,400 individuals at high-risk for skin cancers in B.C. and Quebec, with 222 melanomas identified across four provinces last year.

More information can be found here at molemobile.ca .

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by Jordan Davidson

Mole mobile returns to Nanaimo for free skin cancer screenings

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