“It got to the point where I was wondering if I should wear a hat in the car. I was so paranoid.”
Australia is the number one country in the world for skin cancer — and Ms Cook is sharing her story as she believes sometimes Aussies can be a bit blasé about it. Around 2000 Australians die from skin cancer every year.
She is advocating for everyone to be more vigilant about sun safety and skin checks — even in the midst of winter. She also called for more bulk billing skin check clinics to be available.
Doctor Ludi Ge, a dermatologist at Moshy, said that all-year round skin protection is important.
“In winter UV levels can reach 3 or higher, which is sufficient to cause skin damage and photo ageing, while the cumulative effect of daily exposure, even in cooler months, increases the risk of skin cancer,” said Dr Ge.
“People often associate sunburn with heat, but UV rays penetrate clouds and can harm the skin regardless of temperature, even when driving in the car.”
“Skin cancers can appear in different forms including lesions like a mole or scab that won’t heal, bleeding on light contact, changes in size and colour and flat moles that become raised or develop an irregular edge.”
