Skin Checks

Anyone of any age can develop skin cancer but it becomes more common as you get older.

Many factors can increase your risk of skin cancer, including having:

pale or freckled skin, especially if it burns easily and doesn’t tan
red or fair hair and light-coloured eyes (blue or green)
unprotected exposure to UV radiation, particularly a pattern of short, intense periods of sun exposure and sunburn, such as on weekends and holidays
actively having tanned, sunbaked or used solariums
worked outdoors or spent a lot of time outside (e.g. gardening or golfing)
family history of skin cancer

Did you know?

Approx. 2 out of 3 Australians will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer before the age of 70
Your skin is the largest organ of your body
Your skin sheds about 30,000 dead skin cells every minute!
The thickest skin is found on your feet and the thinnest area of skin is your eyelids.

What is skin cancer?

basal cell carcinoma (BCC)
squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)
melanoma - the most dangerous form of skin cancer.

Skin cancer occurs when skin cells are damaged, for example, by overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.

There are three main types of skin cancer:

Both basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are known as non-melanoma skin cancer or keratinocyte cancers. Keratinocyte cancer is more common in men, with almost double the incidence compared to women.

Melanoma is the third most common cancer in Australians excluding keratinocyte cancers as data on incidence is not routinely collected).

Every year, in Australia:

skin cancers account for around 80% of all newly diagnosed cancers
the majority of skin cancers are caused by exposure to the sun
the incidence of skin cancer is one of the highest in the world, two to three times the rates in Canada, the US and the UK.