Bring back great memories from your summer holidays – not skin cancer!
Luxembourg Minister of Health Lydia Mutsch discusses the message and relevancy of the new campaign launched in Luxembourg to help raise public awareness about skin cancer. The Luxembourg Ministry of Health, the European Association of Dermato Oncology and the Société Luxembourgeoise de Dermato-Vénérologie are the campaign's promoters.
What's the main message of this new campaign?
The message is to take skin cancer seriously and to be responsible for your own health by learning how to prevent it and to detect it at an early stage. We mailed out brochures before summer not only to raise awareness but to serve as a valuable tool to help people detect anything suspicious. It is packed with information and has photos of both harmless freckles and potentially dangerous ones that people can use as a guide to conduct self-examinations. It isn't pretty to look at, but it's extremely useful. Ignorance is not bliss – knowledge can help save people's lives. The information is also available online at http://www.sante.public.lu/fr/prevention/cancer-peau-depistage/index.html
The ministry organises awareness campaigns each year, in close cooperation with the Luxembourgish Dermatology Society. By repeating such actions regularly and by directly involving people, we have a better chance of raising people’s awareness on a long-term basis. Our campaigns help trigger dialogue between citizens and dermatologists, who actively participate in the information stands the ministry sets up at various summer events. People can have their skin checked for free by dermatologists at the stands and receive free samples of sun creams; it has always had a huge success.
Luxembourg's not the sunniest of places – is skin cancer really an issue here?
Unfortunately, yes. 1351 people were diagnosed with skin cancer in 2015: Of these, 118 had melanoma skin cancer (the most dangerous form) and 1233 had non-melanoma skin cancer (the most common and least dangerous form). The good news is that one out of four cases of melanoma is caught early. The bad news is that 3 out of 4 are not. 179 people (143 with melanoma and 36 non-melanoma) died of skin cancer in Luxembourg over the past decade (2006-2015), and sadly, many of those deaths could have been prevented. Remember too that people in Luxembourg frequently travel – and often they head south!
Isn't skin cancer one of the easiest types of cancers to cure?
Yes, if it is caught early, survival rates are very high. However, if left undetected, it is often fatal because it is highly resistant to chemotherapy. It is also something that can be slow in developing or extremely quick. That's why vigilance is so important.
Are people changing their behaviour?
To some degree yes, thanks to our recurrent campaigns. But the fact is that a suntan is still seen as desirable by young and old alike, who see it as a sign of good health and attractiveness in our society where physical appearance is often overrated. Many people don't take the risk of skin cancer seriously enough and regard getting a sunburn about as serious as getting a cold. Yet even one incident of sunburn can raise the risk of developing skin cancer later in life. And people with dark skin tones need to know that they are not immune!
Has Luxembourg benefited from EU support or guidance to help reduce the burden of skin cancer?
Yes, of course, tools like the EU-supported European Code against Cancer that promote prevention and screenings benefit us all, as does EU-funded research. The risk assessment Opinion on the health effects of sunbeds published by the European Commission's independent Scientific Committee has also been extremely useful, addressing questions about the safety of sunbeds and keeping us up to date on the latest scientific knowledge. It provided very valuable guidance when the ministry of health started to elaborate the new regulation on the use of sunbeds. The text, currently under discussion with the Parliament, provides that minors are not allowed to use sunbeds.
Here in Luxembourg, specifically, PhD students received funding for their research into skin cancer through the Commission's Marie Curie Programme. The Life Sciences Research Unit of the University of Luxembourg benefited from some 500,000 Euros in funding, which was part of over three million Euros the EU invested in the 'MEL-PLEX' network that connects universities, hospitals and businesses from 11 different countries, all of them working on skin cancer. This initiative might lead to new discoveries that could have enormous impact on citizens across the EU. We'd be proud, of course, if some of tomorrow's solutions to today's health problems were discovered right here in Luxembourg!
Activities at EU level
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European Commission – Health and Food Safety |
News
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European Code against Cancer advises sun protection and avoidance of sunbeds Among the 12 ways to reduce your cancer risk that are listed in the European Code Against Cancer is the advice to "Avoid too much sun, especially for children. Use sun protection. Do not use sunbeds." |
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No safe exposure limit for UV radiation from sunbeds, concludes independent scientific committee In its Opinion on the health effects of ultraviolet radiation, particularly in reference to exposure to UVR from sunbeds, the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks concludes that there is strong evidence that exposure to UVR from sunbeds causes skin cancer. |
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European Network of Cancer Registries Factsheet provides info on Malignant Melanoma Malignant Melanoma is one of three main types of skin cancer. Approximately 100,000 Europeans were diagnoses with this type of skin cancer in 2012, and 22,200 people in Europe died of the disease that same year. |
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Get 'Insider' tips on how to avoid skin cancer Den Insider is a publication by Luxembourg's Fondation Cancer that highlights a cancer-related topic every issue. The June issue focuses on skin cancer and includes a quiz and a summer sun survival guide. |