It may not feel like it right now, Canberra, but Australia is one of the sunniest countries on Earth.
Donโt be fooled by our lack of beaches and current surplus of clouds, melanoma is still one of the ACTโs top three diagnosed cancers.
This week is National Skin Cancer Action Week, and Cancer Council ACT is reminding everyone to incorporate sun protection into their daily lives. For the youngins aged 15 to 29, Cancer Council is looking right at you.
Melanoma is the most common cancer found in young Australians across the board. Additionally, they have the highest incidence of malignant melanoma worldwide.
Cancer Council ACTโs SunSmart ambassador, Emily Egan, sat down with Canberra Daily to bust the myth that skin cancer only catches up to us through age.
At no point in her life had Emily ever taken skincare lightly.
At 22 years old she had already been modelling for a decade, capitalising on her alabaster skin and gorgeous red hair.
โWhen I tell you that I wore sunscreen religiously,โ she laughed. โMy mother was always that one mum on the beach lathering me in the stuff.โ
โAs an adult I wore sunscreen every day just out of habitโฆ Any tan I ever had was from a bottle.
โI loved taking care of my skin. I thought of my skincare routine as therapeutic, a moment for myself in the mornings.
โI never thought it could happen to me.โ
Two years ago, Emily was scrolling through Facebook when a Cancer Council ad popped up telling the story of a girl her age getting a cancerous mole removed.
During her next check up at the GP she decided on a whim to get her moles checked.
She was shocked at how easy the process was. โYou lay down and they shine a tiny blue light over your skin, it couldnโt have taken more than 10 minutes.โ
She was even more shocked when her GP told her that they had to remove a mole under her chin as soon as possible.
โI remember thinking โhow could this happen to me? I am pretty young, Iโm always super precautious.โ It was a massive wakeup call that this can absolutely happen to anyone.โ
Emilyโs surgery was simple and painless; nowhere near as bad as things could have been, according to her GP.
โI was very lucky. The doctor informed me that had they caught it later in life the damage to my face would have been irreversible,โ she said.
โThis is something Australians should absolutely get checked during regular GP check-ups. Itโs not something that you have to book in, it doesnโt take a lot of time, itโs both easy and unbelievably important.
โThere is this stereotype of โoh, that wonโt happen to me until Iโm olderโ or โthat wonโt happen to me until my skin deteriorates.โ The truth is skin cancer doesnโt discriminate.
โWear your sunscreen, get your skin checked. These are small things that can make a world of difference.โ
Follow Cancer Council ACT on Instagram @cancercouncil_act
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