Page 4502 - Week 15 - Thursday, 22 November 1990
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MR COLLAERY (Attorney-General): Mr Speaker, I tabled a media release in response to Mr Moore a few moments ago. In fact, I read from two media releases. I now table the second one, namely:
Police survey to monitor community needs, including copy of survey, dated 27 April 1990.
SKIN CANCER AWARENESS WEEK
Ministerial Statement
MR HUMPHRIES (Minister for Health, Education and the Arts), by leave: Mr Speaker, I am sure that no-one would dispute the fact that skin cancer is a major health problem in Australia, and is undoubtedly a growing one in the ACT. I am strongly committed to comprehensive action to prevent skin cancer in the ACT, particularly because the causative factors are well known and the preventative strategies are quite simple and inexpensive.
Skin Cancer Awareness Week provides a timely opportunity just before the summer holidays for a major effort in coming to grips with this threat to health. This week, from 19 to 25 November, has been sponsored by the Australian Cancer Society with support from the Australasian College of Dermatologists as Skin Cancer Awareness Week. This year the emphasis will be on the early detection of skin cancers. People will be encouraged to speak to their doctors about any skin conditions that are worrying them.
If there are any doubts about the importance of skin cancer as a public health problem, perhaps some information will convince people that it is indeed a health problem. Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world. It is estimated that about 120,000 Australians have skin cancer at any one time, although many would not be aware of it. About 1,000 Australians die each year from skin cancer, and 800 of those die from malignant melanomas. In 1988 eight Canberrans died from malignant melanomas. The estimated cost for treatment of all skin cancers is between $100m and $400m annually. The additional cost in human suffering and lost productivity is inestimable. Most Australians will require treatment for at least one skin cancer in the course of their lives. The rate of occurrence of non-melanocytic skin cancer is more than three times that of all other cancers combined.
Melanoma is the most common cause of cancer deaths in 30- to 40-year-olds, and the rate of melanoma cases is estimated to be rising at 3 to 5 per cent per year. The effect of the depletion of the ozone layer is a completely new and unquantified factor in the equation. Skin damage from sunlight is not obvious until people reach their forties, but excessive exposure usually occurs in childhood
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