A recent study by Cancer Research UK has revealed that over the past 30 years the number of men dying from malignant melanoma has doubled.
Looking back over the past 30 years we saw 1.5 men in every 100,000 dying from skin cancer in the late 1970’s, looking at the figures today we are seeing 3.1 men per 100,000 dying from the illness. The statistics for men over 65 were particularly alarming with deaths rising from 4.5 per 100,000 to 15.2 per 100,000 in the past 30 years.
In the past 30 years in the UK, cases of malignant melanoma have risen fourfold in men and threefold in women. Interestingly despite more woman being diagnosed with the illness, the number of women dying from the illness remains less then that of men.
A representative from the British Skin Foundation commented: “It’s likely that the findings reflect the difference in attitude between the sexes when it comes to sun safety and, ultimately, skin cancer. It points to two things – seemingly a lack of awareness amongst men about what to look for in terms of skin cancer and a lack of action once they detect something they are unsure about.”
Caroline Cerny, from Cancer Research UK, said “Men needed to learn to look after their skin. The cancer is preventable if people avoid sunburn and deal with ‘worrying’ moles early”.
“Too often men leave it up to their partners or mothers to remind them to use sunscreen or cover up with a shirt and hat, and even to visit the doctor about a worrying mole,” she said.
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