When the sun is shining, it’s great to get out and enjoy all the fun things to do and places to see in the great North West. Especially as the vitamin D we get from the sun helps to keep our bones, teeth and muscles healthy.
However, it’s important we all know and remember how to enjoy it safely. This is because as adults, we can sometimes spend so much time teaching young children the importance of sun safety that we can forget about it ourselves.
We all know that up north, the weather can be unpredictable. But whether it’s sunny or cloudy, UV rays can still cause damage to young and old skin and increase your risk of developing skin cancer.
There are lots of simple things we can all do to protect ourselves and reduce our risk of skin cancer, for example:
So grown ups, even though it’s important to teach children to block the sun, not the fun – don’t forget you’ve got to do it too!
Liverpool has the highest levels of melanoma across the North West, with an incidence rate 35% higher than the rest of England.
Cumbria also experiences high rates of melanoma, with reported cases at a rate 33% higher than that experienced nationally. Cheshire has rates of 32% and Lancashire's skin cancer rates are 15% higher.
That's why it’s important to block the sun, not the fun! And why we continue to put our region’s cancer needs first.
