MELANOMA RATES CONTINUE TO INCREASE, SAYS CANADIAN DERMATOLOGY ASSOCIATION

Source: You Are Untitled, June 2019

The Canadian Dermatology Association (CDA) took the opportunity on World Melanoma Day (May 13) to urge Canadians to adopt sun-safe practices that will better protect them against melanoma and other forms of skin cancer. A new survey shows troubling trends in sun-safe behaviours among Canadians.

This call to action from Canada’s certified dermatologists comes as the association releases new research about Canadians’ attitudes towards sun exposure and sun protection. The latest CDA Sun Safe Behaviour Survey shows that Canadians continue to have misconceptions about certain “sun smart” practices. The survey also suggests that Canadians are still too frequently failing to take the steps they know would reduce their risk of skin cancer, including melanoma.

It’s especially important for older adults to take action. Studies show older, fair-skinned men are more likely to die of melanoma than any other group. The main reasons are a lack of awareness of the disease and its frequent location, which is a hard-to-see place – the back. The lifetime risk of melanoma for Canadian men is now 1 in 59. For women, it is 1 in 73. And the risks are increasing. In comparison, the lifetime risk of melanoma for North Americans in the 1930s was 1 in 1,500.