Sun-loving Britons 'in cancer risk'

A third of young Britons will double their chance of getting the most fatal form of skin cancer this summer because they are set to burn on the beach, according to a poll.
A Cancer Research UK survey found that 30% of young people aged 16 to 24 were "certain" they would get burnt on their summer holiday, with a further 30% saying they might get sunburnt.

The study of more than 2,000 people also found that 27% of adults thought getting burnt was "all part" of getting a tan.

One in five (19%) said they planned to get burnt, and a further 21% said they might.

Malignant melanoma, which is the potentially fatal form of skin cancer, is linked to short, intense bursts of over-exposure to the sun, research has found.

Studies have also shown that sunburn doubles the risk of developing skin cancer.

Dr Lesley Rhodes, a Cancer Research UK dermatologist, said: "Getting sunburnt increases the risk of skin cancer in general. But the kind of sunbathing binges that happen when people go to much hotter climates and bake on the beach is particularly dangerous.

"This kind of short intense exposure to the sun, leading to burning, particularly increases the risk of malignant melanoma. Each year in Britain almost 2,000 people die from this form of skin cancer."

The charity repeated its warning that rates of melanoma are set to treble in the next 30 years unless there is a "radical change of behaviour" among people addicted to sunbathing.

Dr Rhodes said anyone with an unusual skin blemish or a mole that starts to change should get it examined by a doctor.

source:www.channel4.com