It's Sun Awareness Week June 2 to 8 and the Canadian Dermatology Association wants to help educate Canadians about the dangers of sun exposure to reduce the incidence of skin cancer in the country.
People need to do more to protect themselves from damage of ultraviolet radiation (UV rays).
The Canadian Cancer Society released statistics that said skin cancer is the most common cancer in Canada with 6,500 new cases of melanoma and another 76,100 cases of non melanoma skin cancers diagnosed in 2014.
Melanoma is the most deadly form with 1,050 Canadians expected to die from it this year, 140 of those British Columbians.
Skin cancers are preventable. Top risk factor is overexposure to the sun and other sources, such as indoor tanning beds. The main risk is UV radiation which is responsible for up to 90 per cent of melanoma cases.
The Canadian Cancer Society is working with government to get legislation to ban youth under 18 years old from using tanning beds.
Estimates from 2010 said the financial burden of skin cancer in Canada was $532 million per year. About 83 per cent was attributed to melanoma. It's estimated the cost will rise to $922 million by 2031.
