County Durham woman diagnosed with skin cancer is urging people to wear sunscreen
Recent figures show that nearly one in five British holidaymakers would go abroad without packing sun protection.
A County Durham woman diagnosed with skin cancer is urging people to apply sunscreen to protect themselves against the sun.
New research, conducted by O2 to mark Skin Cancer Awareness Month, found that nearly one in five (18%) would go abroad to a warm climate without packing sun protection, thinking they’ll be ‘fine’ without it – with this feeling higher amongst men (24%) than women (12%).
Karen Read from Darlington is diagnosed with melanoma cancer. She said: "There's no excuse really, it should be the same as taking your passport and sun cream should definitely be put on every day.
"The minute your skin goes red, you've put your risk up to maybe 70% of getting skin cancer."
Over 6.4 million British holidaymakers admit they avoid sunscreen
Other reasons for Brits neglecting to wear sunscreen while away include forgetting or not buying any while on holiday (24%) and alarmingly, some even doubting whether it works (5%).
For people with brown or black skin, the figures show that 7% of holidaymakers deem sunscreen unnecessary – echoing a popular misconception nationally, with almost one in 10 (9%) of the general population thinking those of colour do not need sunscreen.
Among those who do apply sunscreen, nearly one in 10 (8%) only do so when they feel they 'might' be burning, despite 76% admitting that getting burnt has a negative effect on their holiday. Two in five (39%) admit to frequently forgetting to reapply sunscreen throughout the day – even though guidance from the British Skin Foundation suggests reapplying at least every two hours, especially after swimming or sweating.
Karen continued to say: " Well I don't think people realise that when the skin goes red and you burn the skin, if you do get diagnosed with melanoma - depending on what stage it is - it could be life-threatening."