With 10 Kiwis a day being diagnosed with melanoma, Melanoma NZ has launched a spot check van that will check out moles for free.
Melanoma New Zealand nurse Gill Rolfe said the cost of getting a mole checked was often what stopped people.
“So being able to do just a spot check is really good.”
Melanoma New Zealand CEO Andrew Newland said more people died of skin cancer every year than on the roads.
“If you get sunburnt at any time in your life, that can come back. It can affect you years down the track. So, any sunburn is dangerous,” she said.
“The good news is that if melanoma is caught and treated early, it's almost always curable.”
If the mole is new, changing, itchy, bleeding or raised, it’s worth getting a check. Essentially, people need to look out for anything unusual.
“It moves really quickly, it’s not a matter of, necessarily, finding it and getting it cut out,” Newland said.
“If you leave it too late, that's not always an option.”
On its first day out, the van proved to be a hit.
About 4000 Kiwis are diagnosed with skin cancer every year, and more than 300 people die.
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