|
|
|
Beware The Burns, Holidaymakers Warned
By Eilish Martin, 8/28/2002 4:35:23 PM
|
People getting ready for their holiday hotspots have been urged to play it safe in the sun.
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in Northern Ireland and is increasing ? and it is caused mainly by over-exposure to the sun.
Precautions people should take have been highlighted in the Care in the Sun campaign funded by the Department of Health and organised by the NI Melanoma Strategy Implementation Group.
People are advised to avoid the sun between 11am and 2pm; to wear a sunhat and suitable clothing; and to use a sunscreen with a protection factor of at least 15.
Also, GPs should be told of suspicious symptoms, such as changes to moles or pigmented areas.
The Ulster Cancer Foundation is leading the campaign. Its head of cancer prevention, Gerry McElwee, says: ?After all the rain we have had it may seem strange to give a warning about the sun.
?People must obviously take precautions in hot places abroad, but they should also protect themselves when, hopefully, we get the sun here.
?In particular, outdoor workers should wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers, wear sunglasses and use a sunscreen.?
More than 400,000 advice leaflets are being distributed throughout the province ? 250,000 with general information, 125,000 aimed at children and young people under 25, and 30,000 for outdoor workers.
The leaflets are being distributed by various organisations including the health boards, health promotion groups, GPs, pharmacists and other health professionals.
Detailed information is on the website www.careinthesun.org The Ulster Cancer Foundation also provides information on its freephone helpline 0800 783 33 39.
Cases of the most serious form of skin cancer here, malignant melanoma, have risen substantially over the past 25 years...from an average of 48 in the mid-1970s to 175 at present. The disease causes 30 deaths every year.
2,300 cases of other skin cancers are diagnosed annually. There are 11 deaths from these cancers.
For further information please contact Naomi Thompson, of the Ulster Cancer Foundation?s cancer prevention department, on 028 9066 3281.
|
|
|
