A life-saving skin cancer screening clinic visited Manchester Rugby Club to boost their presence in the North West and kick-start a new national initiative to promote early detection.
Specialist nurses from the Central Manchester branch of The MOLE Clinic touched down at the club last weekend to provide full-body skin checks and single-mole checks to senior players as part of their new community screening initiative.
The MOLE Clinic was founded in 2003, by lawyer and melanoma survivor Iain Mack, who later created the UK’s first Skin Cancer Screening App using AI – a tool the clinic said has been used by NHS GPs to cut costs and waiting times since 2005.
Manchester Rugby Club was the first sports association to get on board with this new campaign.
Tim Holmes, Chair of Rugby at Manchester Rugby Club, said: “Raising awareness for early skin cancer detection resonates with Manchester Rugby Club’s philosophy, as we are always keen to support our players with impactful initiatives.”
Emma Jones, The MOLE Clinic Marketing Director, said: “We are keen to reach right into the heart of the community with our life-saving, early detection campaign, and having the support of well-established and highly regarded regional associations such as Manchester Rugby Club is ideal for amplifying the message.”
According to Cancer Research UK’s most recent data, 2017-2019, melanoma is the 5th most common cancer in the UK.
Cancer Research UK aims to warn people of all ages to protect themselves from sun exposure, reporting that 86% of melanoma cases are preventable.
The 2017-2019 data showed melanoma on the rise across the board, with a 67% increase in incidences in the 25-49 age group since the early 1990s.
Jones and Holmes both talked about the potential increased risk of skin cancer for outdoor sports players subjected to high levels of UV exposure.
As such, the pair were thankful for the opportunity to foster this partnership, encouraging all community members to have suspicious moles checked straight away, and preferably go for annual checks.
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