Sun Exposure and Skin Cancer
Although there are both beneficial and detrimental effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVR), excess exposure can be damaging to health.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in New Zealand, with New Zealanders at high risk of developing a skin cancer during their lifetime. Our skin cancer rates are among the highest in the world. Melanoma incidence rates in Australia and New Zealand are around four times as high as those found in Canada, the USA and the United Kingdom.
New Zealand's high skin cancer rates are due to:
- the high levels of UVR in New Zealand during daylight savings months;
- low ozone levels over New Zealand;
- our outdoor lifestyle and tendency to ‘seek the sun'; and,
- the high proportion of people with fair skin. Light skin and eye colour, large numbers of moles and excessive sun exposure (particularly intermittent episodes of sunburn), especially in childhood and adolescence, can increase your risk of skin cancer.
Yet, skin cancer is readily preventable. Over 90% of all skin cancer cases in high UVR environments like New Zealand are attributed to excess exposure to UVR. That is why the Cancer Society sees the promotion of skin cancer prevention and early detection as a central component of its work.
