Skin cancer rates on rise among elderly

PEOPLE in their 60s and 70s in Scotland are now five times more likely to get skin cancer than their ancestors.

Research from Cancer Research UK to boost its SunSmart campaign revealed the impact of more exposure to sunlight.

Caroline Cerny, the campaign's manager, said: "The explosion of cheap package holidays and the introduction of sunbeds in the Seventies means we're now seeing alarming rates of melanoma for an entire age group.

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"The problem threatens to get worse as teenagers continue to crave a tan on the beach and top it up cheaply on sunbeds.

"Already skin cancer is predicted to become the fourth most common cancer for men and women in the UK by 2024. We must stop this pattern of behaviour or melanoma rates in future generations will hit an all-time high."