Our love for cheap holiday packages and tanned complexions may need to subside a little bit.
The boom in cheap package holidays in the 1960s is reportedly partly responsible for the rise in skin cancers in older people, according to BBC News.
Figures reportedly show that 5,700 people over 65-years-old are diagnosed with the condition each year compared to just 600 in the mid-1970s.
“I was part of the generation when package holidays became affordable and you could go abroad nearly every year,” stated Sue Deans, a 69-year-old mother of three, who was first diagnosed with skin cancer in 2000 and again in 2007.
She added, “I don’t think there was much understanding at the time about the impact that too much sun can have on your risk of getting skin cancer. And I loved the sun but suffered quite a bit of sunburn over the years.”
Older men are 10 times more likely to be diagnosed with malignant melanoma than their parents’ generation and women are five times more likely, according to the U.K’s The Independent. There are reportedly two main types of skin cancer, melanoma and non-melanoma.
Although both cancers are linked with overexposure to ultraviolet radiation, melanoma skin cancers are reportedly more dangerous.
“It’s very important for people to take care of their skin in the sun. It’s also important for them to keep an eye on their skin and seek medical opinion if they see any changes to their moles, or even to normal areas of skin,” stated professor Richard Marais, a skin cancer expert.
He continued, “Melanoma is often detected on men’s backs and women’s legs but can appear on any part of the body.”
The best way to protect yourself is to take care of your skin is to make sure you don’t care sunburned.
“Sun damage accumulates over time so avoiding sunburn — and sunbeds — is key as well as getting to know your skin type so you don’t overdo it on the beach or even in the garden,” stated Dr. Julie Sharp, Cancer Research UL’s head of health information.
She added, “Swapping bad sun habits for good ones could save your life.”
