A sun awareness campaign has been launched to cut the death toll from malignant melanoma in the UK.

Australia has more cases of malignant melanoma than Britain, even though it has only one third of the population. But Britain has more deaths from the disease - 8,100 over the last five years compared to 4,900 in Australia.

The reason for this worrying discrepancy is that Australians have been taking the 'SunSmart' message on board for the last two decades. Now the leading charity Cancer Research UK aims to make Britons more aware of 'SunSmart' during the upcoming finer weather, when people are more likely to be out and about in the sun.

'SunSmart' consists of a few simple rules and, if you follow them, it may save your life. Stay in the shade between 11 am and 3 pm when the sun is at its strongest. Make sure you never get burned. Always cover up with a T shirt, hat and sunglasses. Remember to take extra care with children, who are more vulnerable to cancer-causing sun exposure and always use a factor 15 plus sunscreen. Meanwhile, keep an eye on any moles - changes such as enlargement, darkening or bleeding should be reported to your doctor immediately. Nine out of ten skin cancers are easily treatable, so long as they are dealt with promptly.

Source

Cancer Research UK 27th March 2003