# Shocked by skin cancer figures



## grimpulo (Jun 9, 2012)

Hello folks, greetings from Milan, Italy!
As many of you I'm dreaming of moving Down There as soon as I can, for the moment I'm just trying to collect general information about the country lifestyle.

One thing which is really puzzling me lately is the really bad incidence of your famous nasty Sun on human skin. I have always been aware of your problems with the ozone layer, but I could have never though that "_two in three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer by the time they are 70_".

I'm quoting apparently very trustworty australian sources, such as Cancer Council Australia. I'm not an Active member, so I can't post the direct link, just google it.

I know Australian big cities I have recently fallen in love with are reputed as the world most livable cities, but this sounds pretty far from livable to me. I don't mean to create an argument here, I'd just like to understand how you cope with it.

How do you enjoy a beautiful sunny day, knowing it's so unhealthy?
Do you wrap yourself with layers, long sleeves, long trousers, big hats, sunglasses and anti-UV creams every couple of hours when spring and summer arrive?
Do you just avoid to think about it, a bit like regular smokers do, enjoying your dangerous pleasant Sun, but totally aware deep inside it is going to kill you eventually?


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## Boboa (Mar 24, 2009)

Most people enjoy the sun, and Australia has the best skin treatment facilities in the world. the figures are higher because every Australian undergoes a medical check for skin cancer on yearly basis. So what wouldn't be noticed in other places will be noticed in Australia. 
By the way aggressive skin cancer is lower in Australia than it is in UK or Spain. Just food for thought.


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## Nelly87 (Jul 3, 2011)

Yeah it is definitely a "checked more often" thing. I was shocked that my partner got every single mole checked and has regular appointments to get a skin checkup - in The Netherlands we don't worry about a mole unless it's really funky or stands out for whatever reason. I've always been told to check for breast and ovary cancers, but in Australia they're just as big on being checked for skin cancer.


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