Skin cancer is an important health issue in Australia and is connected Research Paper

Skin cancer is an important health issue in Australia and is connected to the National Health Priority Area Cancer Control' - Research Paper Example e Sun smart 2013) gives figures of more than 434,000 Australian people being treated for one or more non-melanoma cancers every year and, in the case of melanomas, 11,500 people require treatment annually. According to Right Diagnosis (2014) skin cancer is recorded as the tenth most common cause of deaths from cancer within Australia. These cancers also account for roughly 80% of all newly diagnosed Australian cancers ( Cancer Council of Australia 2014). Despite advances made in recent years, skin cancers are still being caused as a result of skin damage by the sun, and so are preventable. There are three types of skin cancer, melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma, and of these the first , melanoma, is the most aggressive and dangerous ( University of Michigan Health System , 2013). As well as affecting many lives in negative ways , it also increase costs for the health services, as well as using up many resources, so adequate prevention is a positive intervention. In 1996 the first ever International Conference on Health Promotion, took place in Ottawa, Canada, on the 21st November ( WHO 2014). The conference advocated income, sustainable resources, peace, shelter, education, food, social justice, a stable eco-system and equity. The prevention of childhood skin cancers would fit into this, as prevention programmes must be available to all affected equally as an act of social justice. Income to pay for any strategy is needed , as is education on the topic, and the provision of sustainable resources, and even shelter from the sun’s rays. According to Slowik ( 2012) ultra violet rays (UV rays) are part of the section of sun light hidden to normal human view. Over exposure to UV rays can cause damage to DNA, the genetic material contained in the body’s cells. In the skin cells these genes control the ways in which skin cells grow and their health. Norby ( undated) refers to thyamine dimers which are a pair of adjacent