A POTENTIALLY life-saving mole-mapping machine in memory of brave Droitwich man Mike Hull was unveiled this week at Solihull Hospital.
Mike, who passed away last March after a battle with melanoma, wanted to get a mole-mapping machine so it could be more accessible to those who needed it across the Midlands.
He always said, had he undergone the type of scan the machine can carry out, his melanoma would have been caught earlier and it could have been a different outcome.
Fund-raising began in 2019 with the first Droitwich Against Melanoma (DAM) Trophy football match and then had to be paused during the pandemic.
But as soon as they were able, in December 2021, the tireless campaigners restarted their fund-raising and events.
On Monday, after the successful drive, the state-of-the-art mole-mapping machine was unveiled by the University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) trust.
Among those there were Mike’s wife Carol, daughters Katie and Amanda and other family members, including Dave Hull, Matt, Karen and Richard Nicol.
Fellow fund-raisers George and June Page, Kath and Harold Colley, Kath and John Berry, Dave and Meryl Bradshaw, Colin Pullen and Jake Watson were also present.
The senior executive of the UHB was in attendance, along with the head of dermatology, consultants and a nurse who used to look after Mike in Oncology at Worcester but has since moved to dermatology at the University Hospitals Birmingham trust.
Carol said: “I would like to thank everyone who helped make this possible and charity expert Paul Griffiths MBE for all his assistance in getting this machine.
“The atmosphere at the unveiling was absolutely amazing, Mike would have been well pleased.
“This was his legacy and another way to help others, as well as donating his tumours and organs for research.
“Not only that, this fulfills the promise I made to him to get this mole-mapping machine.”
There are mole-mapping machines at other NHS hospitals elsewhere in the country but this one is the closest for the people of Worcestershire and will prevent the need for patients having to travel long distances at what is often a stressful time.
The machine will go straight into use by the UHB and there are thought to be almost 50 people already lined up for the scans they need.
