OVER-65'S HIT BY DEADLY SKIN CANCER TIME-BOMB
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Pastor Dale Morgan
Nov 30, 2010, 8:04:54 PM11/30/10
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Plagues, Pestilences and Diseases
OVER-65'S HIT BY DEADLY SKIN CANCER TIME-BOMB
Sunbathing can have a deadly cancer legacy decades later if the skin is not properly protected from
Tuesday November 30,2010
By Jo Willey
The Daily Express UK
BABY boomers taken away to the sun during the Seventies foreign holiday craze are dying from skin cancer in record numbers, according to new figures.
The over-65s are failing to visit their GP when they spot telltale signs, sending death rates soaring.
The numbers of pensioners killed by malignant melanoma have almost tripled from four deaths per 100,000 in 1979 to 11.4 deaths in 2008.
But the figures for the 15-64 age group are stable at around two deaths per 100,000.
The skin cancer timebomb is exploding 30 years after sunny holidays abroad became popular with the parents of those now being hit by the deadliest form of the disease.
According to Cancer Research UK, part of the reason is that older people are not asking their GP to check changes to moles and skin.
As a result, the over-65s are more likely to be diagnosed when the cancer is more advanced and has spread to other areas of the body.
Skin cancer is easily treated if caught early. But of the over-65s diagnosed with malignant melanoma, around 20 per cent have late stage malignant melanoma, which is usually fatal. This compares with around seven per cent aged 15 to 64.
Malignant melanoma kills around 2,000 people a year in the UK – more than in Australia. About 10,000 new cases are recorded annually, with rates quadrupling in the past 30 years.
Caroline Cerny, SunSmart campaign manager for Cancer Research UK, said: “While the risk increases with age, the fact that so many over-65s are diagnosed when the disease is advanced means that older people need to keep a close eye on changes to their skin or moles.
“If a mole is as big as a pencil-top eraser, bleeds, is sore or itchy, uneven in colour or has jagged edges then people should visit their GP without delay.”
Dr Jem Rashbass, director of the East of England Cancer Registry, which compiled some of the data, said late diagnosis was likely to be down to a combination of factors.
He added that it was important to find the reasons for the delays.
Sara Hiom, director of health information at Cancer Research UK, said: “It can take decades for skin cancer to develop so it is vitally important for young people to be aware that not protecting their skin from sunburn can increase the risk of melanoma later in life. Melanoma is a largely preventable disease; people can reduce their chance of getting skin cancer if they protect their skin from sunburn.
“The damage to skin cells shown by sunburn can remain long after the redness fades.”
Earlier this year it emerged that the package holiday boom in the Seventies meant that those in their 60s and 70s were five times more likely to be diagnosed with the deadliest form of the disease than their parents were.
The mantra of “sunburn before suntan” was common in the Seventies, which was the decade that sunbeds arrived in the UK.
ARTHRITIS DRUG OFFERS HOPE
A CONTROVERSIAL arthritis drug could be used to prevent skin cancer developing, research has found.
Painkiller Celecoxib cut the chance of pre-cancerous abnormal cells generating non-melanoma skin tumours.
The drug, marketed in the UK under the name Celebrex, is one of a range called Cox-2s used by 1.4 million Britons.
Four years ago research suggested Celecoxib might increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
US scientists conducting the new study looked at the effect of the drug on 240 people with pre-cancerous skin damage.
Dr Craig Elmets from the University of Alabama, whose findings were published by the National Cancer Institute, said: “Celecoxib-treated individuals developed fewer non-melanoma skin cancers.”
OVER-65'S HIT BY DEADLY SKIN CANCER TIME-BOMB
Sunbathing can have a deadly cancer legacy decades later if the skin is not properly protected from
Tuesday November 30,2010
By Jo Willey
The Daily Express UK
BABY boomers taken away to the sun during the Seventies foreign holiday craze are dying from skin cancer in record numbers, according to new figures.
The over-65s are failing to visit their GP when they spot telltale signs, sending death rates soaring.
The numbers of pensioners killed by malignant melanoma have almost tripled from four deaths per 100,000 in 1979 to 11.4 deaths in 2008.
But the figures for the 15-64 age group are stable at around two deaths per 100,000.
The skin cancer timebomb is exploding 30 years after sunny holidays abroad became popular with the parents of those now being hit by the deadliest form of the disease.
According to Cancer Research UK, part of the reason is that older people are not asking their GP to check changes to moles and skin.
As a result, the over-65s are more likely to be diagnosed when the cancer is more advanced and has spread to other areas of the body.
Skin cancer is easily treated if caught early. But of the over-65s diagnosed with malignant melanoma, around 20 per cent have late stage malignant melanoma, which is usually fatal. This compares with around seven per cent aged 15 to 64.
Malignant melanoma kills around 2,000 people a year in the UK – more than in Australia. About 10,000 new cases are recorded annually, with rates quadrupling in the past 30 years.
Caroline Cerny, SunSmart campaign manager for Cancer Research UK, said: “While the risk increases with age, the fact that so many over-65s are diagnosed when the disease is advanced means that older people need to keep a close eye on changes to their skin or moles.
“If a mole is as big as a pencil-top eraser, bleeds, is sore or itchy, uneven in colour or has jagged edges then people should visit their GP without delay.”
Dr Jem Rashbass, director of the East of England Cancer Registry, which compiled some of the data, said late diagnosis was likely to be down to a combination of factors.
He added that it was important to find the reasons for the delays.
Sara Hiom, director of health information at Cancer Research UK, said: “It can take decades for skin cancer to develop so it is vitally important for young people to be aware that not protecting their skin from sunburn can increase the risk of melanoma later in life. Melanoma is a largely preventable disease; people can reduce their chance of getting skin cancer if they protect their skin from sunburn.
“The damage to skin cells shown by sunburn can remain long after the redness fades.”
Earlier this year it emerged that the package holiday boom in the Seventies meant that those in their 60s and 70s were five times more likely to be diagnosed with the deadliest form of the disease than their parents were.
The mantra of “sunburn before suntan” was common in the Seventies, which was the decade that sunbeds arrived in the UK.
ARTHRITIS DRUG OFFERS HOPE
A CONTROVERSIAL arthritis drug could be used to prevent skin cancer developing, research has found.
Painkiller Celecoxib cut the chance of pre-cancerous abnormal cells generating non-melanoma skin tumours.
The drug, marketed in the UK under the name Celebrex, is one of a range called Cox-2s used by 1.4 million Britons.
Four years ago research suggested Celecoxib might increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
US scientists conducting the new study looked at the effect of the drug on 240 people with pre-cancerous skin damage.
Dr Craig Elmets from the University of Alabama, whose findings were published by the National Cancer Institute, said: “Celecoxib-treated individuals developed fewer non-melanoma skin cancers.”
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