As a fair-haired Scot with freckles and pale skin I’m a classic case to be more at risk from melanoma. Getting quite badly sunburned on my nose years ago in Spain has pushed my risk up further.
To say I’ve been wary about the sun is an understatement - I specialise in treating patients with advanced melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer.
I was also in Australia 30 years ago at the start of the Slip-Slop-Slap campaign to warn people to keep out of the sun, and for seven years I never went swimming without being covered in sun lotion and wearing a T-shirt.
But now I believe that rather than reducing the risk of skin cancer, following these sun-avoidance guidelines could actually raise it. That’s because we need sun on our skin to make vitamin D - ironically these campaigns may have made millions chronically short of it and put them at risk. t rather than reducing the risk of skin cancer, following these sun-avoidance guidelines could actually raise it.
That’s because we need sun on our skin to make vitamin D - ironically these campaigns may have made millions chronically short of it and put them at risk. The sun’s effects might even protect against melanoma (as reported in the Mail earlier this month).
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