May is Skin Cancer and Melanoma Awareness Month. In the UK, there is a growing concern over the increasing rates of skin cancer diagnoses. There are now more than 16,000 new cases of melanoma and 155,000 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer each year in the UK. Sadly, of the 16,000 new cases of melanoma, over 2,000 will prove fatal.
I was one of the fortunate ones who survived and, whilst all I am left with is an impressive scar, the outcome could have been so very different had I not been aware of what signs to look out for and caught the cancer early.
86 per cent of melanoma cases can be prevented by taking simple measures such as applying sun protection of SPF 30 and above, whether the sun is shining or not. Unfortunately, 1 in 10 people are not wearing sunscreen at all because it is too expensive.
In Parliament, I once again pressed the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, on when we can expect the Government to abolish VAT on high-factor sunscreen.
You can view my question to the Chancellor here.