Skin cancer cases soar by 60% in a decade

THE number of Scots living with the skin cancer malignant melanoma has soared by more than 60 per cent during the past decade, newly released figures have revealed.

There were 1,141 cases of melanoma in Scotland 2010 – the most recently recorded year – compared to the 659 patients with the condition ten years earlier, official health statistics showed yesterday.

There was a dramatic increase in the number of melanoma cases between 2005 and 2009, with the figure rising from 858 to 1,192 in just four years, according to the figures published by health statistics service ISD Scotland.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon suggested that the increase in melanoma was partly due to an increasing over use of sunbeds, even though the Public Health (Scotland) Act 2008 banned their use by under 18s.

Ms Sturgeon said: “These figures are yet another stark warning of the dangers of unsafe tanning – either in the sun or using sunbeds.

“People need to realise how essential it is to wear sunscreen and cover up in the sun. Doing this and avoiding sunbed use really could save your life.

“Using sunbeds is dangerous and that is why Scotland led the way by being the first part of the UK to introduce legislation to address the health risks associated with sunbed use.”

The sharp rise of 62.8 per cent was described as an “epidemic” by senior Scottish Labour MSP Ken Macintosh, who demanded easier access to lifesaving medicines for melanoma patients as well as improvements on early diagnosis.

He said: “These figures show Scotland is experiencing a skin cancer epidemic and highlight the urgent need for further action from the SNP government. The sunbeds bill was only the start and there is so much more we need to do to raise awareness of the dangers of tanning.

“We need a public awareness campaign to ensure everybody, especially our children and young people, enjoy the sun safely both at home and abroad. For too long now, the government has relied on charities like Cancer Research UK to fund these campaigns. That is not good enough. This life-saving work should be a priority for the Scottish government too.

“There are also specific steps the government could take to improve the early diagnosis of skin cancer”

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Jackson Carlaw described the latest increase in skin cancer as “depressing” as he called on the SNP Government to increase funding to improve treatment.

He said: “However, given Scotland’s depressing record on cancer survival rates, we also need to ensure that we offer more hope to sufferers than in other countries and not less, as we do currently. Scotland needs a cancer drugs fund and these latest figures demonstrate just how urgent this need is.”

Dr Dean Marshall, Chairman of the British Medical Association’s Scottish GP Committee said: “Even taking into account improved awareness and diagnosis, the increase in reported cases of melanoma is startling.”