Dermott Brereton and Bianca Chatfield at La Roche-Posay and Rural Imaging Australia’s skin check tour, which visited Rich River Golf Club on Tuesday.
You can’t out-tough a melanoma.
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That was the brutal reality delivered by AFL legend Dermott Brereton at Rich River Golf Club on Tuesday.
The club was hosting the Echuca-Moama leg of Rural Imaging Australia and La Roche-Posay’s Skin Check Tour.
On the day, Rural Imaging Australia introduced the town to the glitz and glamour of its $3.5 million mobile self-sufficient multi-purpose screening truck.
It’s decked out with a 2D imagery system for skin screening that uses a high-powered microscopic camera to take photos, two consultation rooms, and a breast screening space.
It’s all very fancy stuff.
But as Brereton, a skin cancer survivor and La Roche ambassador, explained, this tour was certainly not about showing off.
“I live in Melbourne, but I have a property up in Hay. From Hay all the way down, you draw a line from Shepparton across, there are so many men, predominantly men, even though it can hit women as well, who just work outside,” he said.
“Work on the roads, the tools, the farm, and they genuinely are tough, but you can't beat a melanoma, you can't out-tough a melanoma, so we’re getting the message across, which is taking a while.
“It took a while for it to sink in with me too, so I’m your primary case example.”
Brereton realised the value of regular skin checks the hard way.
After some badgering from a mate had finally taken its toll, the Hawthorn great learned of three “nasty” melanomas.
“We don't know when they are contracted, it’s probably some time during childhood, adolescence, when you’re a kid in the ’70s and ’80s and running around with your shirt off, thinking you’re invincible,” Brereton said.
Decades ago, there was perhaps an unintentional ignorance of the importance of good skin health.
But Brereton feels that is changing.
“You were a wuss if you use factor 15 (sunscreen), but now you don’t use anything other than factor 50,” he said.
“My era was of that psyche, but we’re starting to get the message through.
“This is more about awareness and peace of mind.”
Also present on the day was Diamonds great Bianca Chatfield.
Chatfield said her mum was always on to her about covering up as a kid.
But she still received a shock when Melbourne Phoenix teammate Peta Jurson lost her battle with melanoma cancer in 2008.
Chatfield and Brereton were there to encourage locals to hop on the truck for a check.
But the town didn’t need an extra push.
“Derm and I have been encouraging people to come on board, and they (Rural Imaging) are like, ‘We’re all booked out, stop it you two,’ so it’s great to see,” Chatfield said.
“The truck’s going to be on the road for a month going to all different areas, and people just have to book online, and you can grab a spot and come down.
“It’s so quick and so easy, and they’ve got all the high-tech technology in the truck, which really surprised me when I first went in there; I couldn’t believe all the resources that they've got.”
The screening truck will be at the Elmore Field Days from October 6 to 8 from 8am to 4.30pm, for any interested locals who missed out this time around.
The $3.5 million mobile multi-purpose screening truck.
Checks are free, with Rural Imaging director Jason Kane explaining appointment times were often not released too early, given they booked out within 48 to 60 hours.
It’s likely due to the easy accessibility.
“You’re not going to get a farmer to come off a property for a day to go and get screened,” Mr Kane said.
“But they’ll come in for 20 minutes, have a screen, and be able to go, and they might have only done an hour of their day instead of a full day.
“That’s what it’s all about, trying to get those communities involved, farming communities and regional communities.”
You can learn more about Rural Imaging’s mobile skin screening at tinyurl.com/yc3du5r4
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