‘Mole Mobile’ returns to Ottawa to scan for skin cancers

Ottawa residents lined up in a parking lot for a mole check on Friday. CTV’s Peter Szperling says the 'Mole Mobile’ kicked off a cross-Canada trip.

The travelling skin cancer screening ‘Mole Mobile’ returns to Ottawa this year.

Melanoma Canada is planning to visit 130 locations across Canada between now and Oct. 31, with the first session in Ottawa on Friday.

Certified Canadian dermatologists will conduct skin cancer screenings and provide education on skin cancer prevention and the importance of early detection, according to Melanoma Canada.

The Mole Mobile is presented by Neutrogena, and “operates with the partnership and support of the Canadian Dermatology Association (CDA).” The purpose is to “visit major Canadian cities with long wait times to see a dermatologist, underserved communities, rural and Indigenous regions, to help speed up the time to diagnosis, which is vital to improving outcomes for patients.”

You can visit the mole mobile in Ottawa on Friday at the Walmart at 450 Terminal Ave. It opened at 10 a.m. and quickly filled up.

The Mole Mobile will be in Cornwall on Sunday at the Walmart at 420 Ninth St. and a clinic with increased capacity will return to Ottawa on May 27 on Parliament Hill from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

According to Melanoma Canada, since its launch in 2023, the Mole Mobile has screened thousands of Canadians and identified a significant number of suspicious lesions and melanomas.

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