Our Care in the Sun campaign takes place every May, to coincide with Sun Awareness Week. It highlights the risks of over exposure to the sun which can result in skin cancer.
Skin cancer, particularly malignant melanoma, is continuing to rise in Northern Ireland and rates are increasing by an average of 4 men and 9 women each year.
Research has indicated that this trend will continue and we could see a trebling of malignant melanoma rates over the next 30 years with people being diagnosed at a progressively younger age.
For our 2006 campaign, we joined forces with Gordons Chemists and the Ulster Farmers Union to highlight the dangers of the sun to rural communities and those who work outdoors, where levels of dangerous UV radiation can be up to 400% greater.
We ran a skin analysis and general health clinic at the Balmoral Show and throughout the summer the skin analysis machine toured all 44 Gordons Chemists stores.
