Skin cancer experts from around the world met recently in Fremantle, Western Australia, at the inaugural National Melanoma Conference. The 2 day event gave experts the opportunity to discuss the latest in research and breakthroughs for skin cancer across the globe. Professor Charles Balch, Professor of Surgery at the University of Texas South Western Medical

According to ‘Australian Medicine Online’, the International Journal of Biometeorology recently released data detailing that UV levels in Australia are steadily increasing. The study in the International Journal of Biometeorology was produced by Dr Lilia Lemus-Deschamps of the Bureau of Meteorology and Ms Jen Makin of Cancer Council Victoria’s Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer.

Truck drivers in Australia face a high risk of skin cancer due to the high levels of UV radiation they are exposed to on a day-to-day basis. UV radiation from the sun is the most common cause of skin cancer. Outdoor workers, including truck drivers, receive up to 5 – 10 times more sun exposure

A gene responsible for almost one in 10 melanomas has been discovered following research by scientists in Australia and the United States. Read more here

A research group called the Metabolic Syndrome and Cancer Project (Me-Can) has been looking at how metabolic factors, such as blood pressure, may affect cancers. According to studies conducting, men and women with high blood pressure had an increased risk of developing melanoma, while women with high blood pressure were more likely to die from

A new drug designed to treat melanoma is showing positive results during trials conducted in Australia and the USA. The drug, called Zelboraf, works by blocking a protein that is involved with cell growth in patients with advanced melanoma whose tumours express a gene mutation called BRAF V600E. About 53 per cent of patients with

In an innovative move by the NSW Cancer Council, a new ‘Sun Sound’ has now made it’s way to beaches and outdoor areas across the NSW coast. The jingle, written by Australian recording artist Ben Lee, has been designed to be a catchy reminder to apply and reapply sunscreen and seek protection when out in

As Australian children head back to school for the first time in 2012, teachers and schools are being urged from environmental group, Friends of the Earth, to drop sunscreens that include nanoparticles… Read more…

Despite repeated warnings from years of national sun safety campaigns, Western Australian men are still leaving themselves at high risk of developing skin cancer as they fail to use adequete sun protection. Read more…

After 40 years of working with skin cancer and having removed more than 40,000 malignancies, Dr Ian McDougall is concerned that the national sun safety strategies are failing to have a substantial impact. Read more…

Sun protection has come a long way since we baked in the harsh Australian sun with completely bare skin, reflective foil at the ready. In the ensuing decades, once exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation was found to cause up to 90 per cent of skin cancers, sunscreen became a non-negotiable mainstay in our daily lives