SKIN HEALTH
SKIN CANCER: THE GROWING MENACE
THERE WAS ALARMING NEWS FOR SCOTTISH SUN WORSHIPPERS LAST YEAR WHEN NHS FIGURES REVEALED THAT CASES OF SKIN CANCER IN SCOTLAND HAD INCREASED BY MORE THAN 30 PER CENT IN THE PREVIOUS DECADE.
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n recent years there has been increasing awareness and understanding among the public of the causes, signs and symptoms of
skin cancer.
The Scottish Government has also been active in this area, introducing strategies to try to improve cancer care, including the publication of Better Cancer Care: An Action Plan in 2008. The action plan set out around 80 actions in the areas of prevention, early diagnosis, genetic and molecular testing for cancer, referral and diagnosis, treatment, living with cancer, and improving the quality of care.
It also included specific actions to prevent melanoma, for example by restricting the use of sunbeds by under 18s and banning coin- operated or unsupervised sunbeds. To date, however, there has been no specific activity targeted at preventing incidence of melanoma through greater awareness of sun safety.
44 - SCOTTISH PHARMACIST
Hardly surprising then that last year’s NHS statistics showed that there were 1,172 diagnoses of melanoma in 2013, making it the sixth most common form of the disease! Perhaps even more worryingly, ISD Scotland projections have shown that the actual figure of 5,913 of people diagnosed between 2008-12 with malignant melanoma is projected to rise to 9,462 between 2023-27! A staggering increase of 60 per cent!
TYPES OF SKIN CANCER
There are two main types of the disease: non-melanoma skin cancer and malignant melanoma.
Non-melanoma skin cancer is relatively common, with 6,428 cases diagnosed in Scotland in 2013.
Malignant melanoma is rarer in comparison, with 1,172 cases diagnosed in 2013. However, it is more serious, leading to 176 deaths in 2011, compared to 82 reported deaths for non-melanoma skin cancer.
RISK FACTORS
There are no prizes for guessing the top-ranking risk factors for developing skin cancer! Solar radiation and ultraviolet-emitting tanning devices (eg, sunbeds) tend to be considered as having ‘sufficient’ or ‘convincing’ evidence for their role in this type of cancer, although they’re certainly not alone on the list, with X radiator, gamma radiation, coal tar pitch, mineral and shale oils and soot all making an appearance.
WHAT SKIN CANCERS LOOK LIKE
Forty-one per cent of melanomas in men are found on the trunk, particularly the back, while in women, almost 40 per cent of tumours are found on the leg. This can often lead to a delay in patients spotting the signs and symptoms of melanoma and so increases the chances of the tumour being more advanced by the time of diagnosis.
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