Lions provide skin check on wheels

THE Torquay Lions Club have bought a free skin check and awareness unit to Torquay to give residents the chance to get on top of their skin health.

Torquay Lions Club members joined the mobile Lions V Districts Cancer Foundation, along with accredited dermoscopists, on Friday and Saturday outside Wurdi Baierr Stadium in Torquay North.

The unit aims to make Australia’s skin cancer statistics a thing of the past by offering the service to people in remote areas in Victoria and rural NSW.

“It’s great that the Torquay Lions Club have brought us down to run the service so we can provide these free skin checks to the lovely local community,” Lions V Districts Cancer Foundation Unit Co-Ordinator Wendy Hellebrand said.

“Before Torquay today, we have visited 55 towns in the past 12 months including Forrest, Koroit, Warnambool, Dartmoor, Nhill, Lake Bolac, Ararat, Seymour, Tocumwal and many more.

“We usually try to get as rural as possible, however we also come to wherever there is demand, especially in areas that have limited GPs and skin clinics.”

The fully equipped skin check and awareness unit cost in excess of $450,000 and the service has been funded by Lions Clubs and philanthropic organisations from across Victoria and NSW.

About $300,000 has come from Lions V Districts clubs who have cited the need for the service.

The mobile unit includes three consulting rooms with a dermoscopist present in each room.

“A large percentage of our dermoscopists are health workers, podiatrists, school teachers and complete our course online and then have face-to-face training to get fine-tuned,” Ms Hellebrand said.

The Lions V Districts Cancer Foundation is run by a close-knit team of volunteers but is always on the lookout for more to keep the service going.

“We are always looking for volunteers to assist, no matter who you are or where you live,” maintenance co-ordinator Rob Eyton said.

“Lions Clubs don’t happen without the support of the community and its people, so we are always looking for dermoscopists, admin workers and drivers who can assist in our mobile unit as well as others who want to generally be a part of their local Lions Club.

“We are all over the country and we want to keep it that way long into the future through more people signing up to be a part of it.”