ALMOST 330 people die in Queensland each year from melanoma.
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Statistics show diagnoses rates for melanoma in Mount Isa are almost 25 per cent below the national average, despite the region being hit with high to extreme UV throughout the year.
However, the Cancer Council says melanoma rates are still too high.
Almost 180 people are diagnosed with melanoma every year in the northern Queensland region covering Mount Isa, Ingham, Townsville, Charters Towers and Hughenden.
A national skin cancer prevention week was launched yesterday by Cancer Council to get more people to slip, slop, slap, seek shade and slide on sunglasses to prevent getting skin cancer.
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Australasian College of Dermatologists president Dr Andrew Miller said two out of every three Australians would be diagnosed with skin cancer by the time they reached 70 years of age.
About 2000 people die in Australia from melanoma each year on average, with diagnoses rates for melanoma in parts of south-east Queensland, like at the Gold Coast, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, were up to 50 per cent higher than the national average.
Dr Miller said some people falsely believed that being tanned was a sign of good health, when it instead was a sign of too much exposure to UV radiation, which could later lead to skin cancer.
“Tanning is a sign that you have been exposed to enough UV radiation to damage your skin and we need to make sure teenagers get this message, to prevent a rise in the incidence of skin cancer for the next generation,” he said.
A report by the Cancer Council, called the National Sun Protection Survey, found that almost 40 per cent of teens liked getting a tan.
The theme of this year’s skin cancer action week, which is on until Saturday, November 24, is #OwnYourTone.
The campaign is aimed at encouraging teenagers and young people to embrace their natural beauty and protect their skin from the sun.
Cancer Council Australia chief executive Professor Sanchia Aranda said Australia had one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world.
“These results show that the messages about the dangers of too much UV exposure are not getting through to our teenagers,” she said.
For more statistics, visit Cancer Council’s webpage here or atlas.cancer.org.au.
