Rise in skin cancer comes after boom in cheap holidays

By Caribbean Medical News Staff
If you were around in the 1960s and were raised in the United Kingdom, you might recall that your parents took you to the South of France in the blazing summers and across the pond to the Caribbean to soak up sun, sea and sand but the Cancer Research UK says that the cheap holidays may be responsible for the rise in skin cancer.
“It is worrying to see melanoma rates increasing at such a fast pace, and across all age groups. It is important people keep an eye on their skin and seek medical opinion if they see any changes to their moles or even to normal areas of skin. Melanoma is often detected on men’s backs and women’s legs but can appear on any part of the body,” said Professor Richard Marais of CRUK.
“You can burn at home just as easily as you can on holiday, so remember to spend time in the shade, wear a T-shirt and a hat to protect your skin and regularly apply sunscreen that is at least factor 15 and has four stars,” Dr Julie Sharp, head of health information at CRUK.
According to a UK report, figures suggest that annually over 5700 people over the age of 65 have been diagnosed with the condition in contrast to only 700 in the mid-70s. The Charity says that they believe that people were not aware of the dangers of exposure to the sun in those early years.
Numbers continue to increase and according to the charity around 13 000 people are diagnosed with the most serious form of skin cancer, malignant melanoma in the UK, with 2,100 losing their lives each year.
Research suggests that getting sunburnt just once every two years can increase the odds of developing malignant melanoma.
“Interest in package holidays and in fashion tanning are among the reasons that more people are developing skin cancer”, Jonathan Major of the British Association of Dermatologists also remarked.