The “Mole Patrol” is coming to San Diego to check up on your skin and detect abnormalities early.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 19, San Diegans are encouraged to participate in a free screening test for skin cancer and melanoma at Embarcadero Park North in Seaport Village.
About 48,000 melanoma cases are identified in the United States each year; 8,000 people die from the disease each year, according to the William S. Graham Foundation, a nonprofit group in Castro Valley educating the public about the disease.
Early diagnosis is vital and significantly raises one’s chances of survival, the foundation reported. The group, best known for its “zebra” symbol, will drive to San Diego.
A local dermatologist will be conducting the screenings out of the foundation’s van.
Melanoma has four prominent warning signs: Unusual growth on the skin, a mole that changes in size, shape or color, a color change on the skin and a sore that won’t heal.
Maxim Pharmaceuticals Corp., a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical firm that developed a treatment for malignant melanoma, is sponsoring the Mole Patrol.
