The Provincial Council of Málaga and the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) have begun the campaign “Don’t become a prawn – protect your skin” to raise awareness of the dangers of exposure to the sun and its consequences, as well as to offer information on ways to prevent them.
Between the start of the campaign and October 6th, a bus will travel around a total of 19 places in the province.
Between 10am and 1pm from the same, recommendations will be offered on good sun exposure habits and residents who believe they have suspicious moles will be able to consult a doctor. In this regard, the President of the association has announced that those who need attention will be taken to the hospital to be seen quickly. In addition, specialist lectures and 5,000 sun protection samples will be offered.
The campaign “Don’t become a prawn – protect your skin” has been prompted by the high degree of solar exposure to which the people of Málaga are subjected, as the province receives more than 3,000 hours of sunshine per year, so the AECC stress the importance of always working on prevention.
The AECC recommends a number of key measures to prevent skin cancer, such as adopting healthy sun exposure habits from childhood, applying sunscreen with an appropriate SPF for each person’s phototype, applying sun cream every two hours and using maximum protection for small children.
Also, protect yourself from the sun by wearing hats, sunglasses and t-shirts; do not sunbathe between 12 noon and 4 pm, and go to a dermatologist to check out any moles and spots that appear on the skin, particularly those that are asymmetrical, have irregular edges, are of varying colours, have a diameter greater than 6 mm or are progressing in any way.
The AECC reports that skin cancer is more frequent in young adults and those between 30 and 60 years (with an average of 50 years) than in children and adolescents; men and women appear to be equally susceptible. However, the parts of the body affected tend to be different – for young women, it is most common on the lower limbs, and for older men, on the trunk, face, neck and shoulders. Skin cancer is most likely to develop on areas of the skin most commonly exposed to the sun.
With around 320 days of sunshine a year sun bathers in Nerja on the Costa Del Sol will no doubt benefit from the free information on sun protection.
