Wear SPF 50, warns islander with skin cancer

An islander diagnosed with malignant skin cancer has urged Guernsey residents to wear sun protection.

David Thompson found out he had melanoma which had spread to his lymph nodes almost three years ago.

He said he was told his five-year chance of survival was "about two-thirds" which was "a very sobering, make-you-sit-up-and-notice statistic".

In 2024, the number of people diagnosed with skin cancer in Guernsey hit the highest level in five years.

States figures showed rates of skin cancer on the island were significantly higher than those in England.

Diane Mathews, strategic screening lead at Public Health Guernsey, said skin cancer rates on the island were about 89% higher than the south-west of England.

She put it down to islanders "not taking enough care in the sun" and the outdoor lifestyle people often led.

"We need to make [sun protection] more culturally acceptable and habit-forming," she added.

A wellbeing survey conducted by the States every five years found that in 2023, 45.5% of respondents had one or more episodes of sunburn in the last year, up from 44.2% in 2018.

While 17.7% had not heard of any of the signs of skin cancer - an increase of more than 5% on 2018 - the survey found 93.5% of people did routinely use at least one of the sun protection measures the survey listed.

Mrs Mathews said the figures overall were "very concerning".

"It's the exact combination you don't want to see - we've got increasing skin cancer figures at the same time as people doing less sun-safe behaviours."

Mr Thompson, who swims outdoors all year round, has called for a skin cancer support group to be set up on the island, as well as the introduction of sun cream dispensers.

"I wear factor 50 sun cream every day and I always wear long sleeves to cover up," he said.

He urged others to "take those precautions... as there isn't always a cure".

BBC Guernsey has launched a Sun Safety Campaign about early detection and prevention of skin cancers, and will speak to experts about the importance of sun safety over the summer months.

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