Australia - Melanoma Rates Up 12% For Men, 15% For Women In 10 Years

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SYDNEY - "Australia has the highest skin cancer rate in the world and despite decades of health campaign the rate of melanoma, which is the most common kind of cancer, is soaring, a new report said.


The melanoma rate rose 12 percent in men and 15 percent in women in the last 10 years, and is expected to rise another 11 percent by 2011, the report by the New South Wales Cancer Institute said.
The institute said a public health campaign aimed at educating Australians about the dangers of too much sun and the need to wear hats, shirts and sun cream was fading.

"Unfortunately, the sun-smart message has been diluted over time, mainly in secondary schools, so those today are less sun-smart than those in school in the 90s," institute head Jim Bishop told Reuters on Thursday. "About 80 percent of teenage girls believe having a tan is healthy. The sun-smart message needs to be re-invigorated now," Bishop said.

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But while the incidence of skin cancer was rising, the number of people dying from cancer including melanoma was on the decline in Australia, with the death rate at its lowest level since 1972."

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http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/31096/story.htm