100 HEALTH MATTERS cancer aWareness


SKIN CANCER PREVENTION PROGRAMME


Outdoor workers and young children are being targeted by the National Cancer Control Programme in a skin cancer prevention programme aimed at improving awareness of the damage caused by sun exposure and providing accurate skin protection advice.


Skin cancers are highly preventable, but Dr Marie Laffoy, Community Oncology Advisor and Specialist in Public Health Medicine with the NCCP, says that, “there may not be enough recognition of how common and easily preventable skin cancers are”. There are two types – malignant melanoma (MM) and non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC). “UV radiation is responsible for up to 90 per cent of skin cancers and most of our lifetime UV exposure occurs during childhood and adolescence. “It is proven that ultraviolet radiation (UVR) causes skin cancer. Any potential benefits of exposure to sunlight do not outweigh the known risks of skin cancer. We need to adopt a commonsense approach to sun protection for the purpose of preventing skin cancer,” according to Dr Laffoy. “We will prevent skin cancer if we heed basic common sense guidance regarding sun exposure and protection. The actions required for prevention may seem simple (for example, reduce sun exposure, especially between 11am and 3pm, seek shade, cover the skin with light clothing, wear sun glasses and use a broad spectrum sunscreen) however the real challenge for all of us involved in healthcare delivery is to motivate people to alter their attitude and behaviour towards protecting their skin.”


A major increase in MM and NMSC cancers occurred in Ireland during the latter half of the 20th


century. Incidence continues


to rise. Dr Laffoy noted that NMSC incidence is predicted to increase by over 90 per cent over the coming decade if current trends continue. “There were over


7,000 new cases registered in 2007 and it is forecast that it will rise to 13,000 if we continue to ignore the advice and fail to protect ourselves from sun exposure. NMSC accounts for 92 per cent of all skin cancers.” Malignant melanoma can be life-


threatening. Over 600 Irish people are diagnosed with MM annually. Since 1994, the incidence rate has been increasing every year for males and females by two per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively. Though MM accounts for just eight per cent of all skin cancers diagnosed in Ireland each year, it is responsible for 67 per cent of skin cancer deaths (approximately 100 annually). Overall, 60 per cent of these patients are female and 60 per cent are aged under 65 years. Malignant melanoma is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the 15-44 years age group,


representing 10 per cent of all new cancers diagnosed in this age group. By the year 2020, it is projected that there will be 1,250 new cases of malignant melanoma per year if current trends continue.


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