My mother Annetjie Groenewald had skin cancer that had to be removed and is common in south Africa. South Africa has the second largest incidence of skin cancer in the world. The Cancer Association of South Africa is urging all South Africans to become more sun smart to reduce the amount of skin cancer. Which is why we at Beauty Therapy Institute feel it is vitally important to educate South Africans about skin cancer and what we can do to lower the incidences of skin cancer.
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Everyone is at risk of getting skin cancer as we are all exposed to the Sun. Ethnic skins are less susceptible as they have a higher level of Melanin, which naturally protects the skin from sun damage. However, this does not exempt the ethnic population from getting skin cancer.
Approximately 80% of sun damage to the skin is done before the age of 18 years. Skin cancer is a growing public health problem in South Africa due to its high ambient ultraviolet radiation environment.
In South Africa, among the white population, there is one of the highest incidences of malignant melanoma in the world and concern for skin cancer overall has grown in recent years. The estimated yearly incidence of malignant melanoma is 4.76 per 100,000 persons overall and 19.2 per 100,000 in whites [1]. In 2009,
