Well this morning I woke up to the headline that melanoma cases, the highest risk skin cancer, have written to an all-time high in the UK – above 20,000 new cases in a year.

This follows the news that the weather in the UK in 2025 was both the sunniest and warmest on record.

It makes no sense to me as we know just how easy it is to avoid being caught in the Sun. The simple slip, slap, slop and seek shade slogan it’s all we need to adhere to.

The headline comes towards the end of Melanoma May. This is the month that skin cancer charities around the world really start to increase their activities to raise awareness of this rather hideous killer disease.

It’s the sun’s UV that causes the lion share of all skin cancer cases reported but having said that UV from sunbeds is just as dangerous if not more because of the intensity of the Ray from the sunbeds. There has been a recent cross party consultation regarding the dangers of UV and a report has been produced which makes very interesting reading. The full report can be viewed here.

Only just today we have seen the UK Government issue a consultation paper aimed at Age checks to stop children using sunbeds under new laws. The consultation period is for 12 weeks and it aims to :-

• Toughen up rules to better protect children and teens from sunbeds, including mandatory ID checks
• 12-week consultation launched on introducing new regulations 
• Part of the government’s National Cancer Plan to tackle one of the most preventable causes of cancer

It’s about time people in the UK, and indeed globally really sat up and started to take more notice about the dangers of the UV and how the precautions can reduce the risks of skin cancer.

The damage to my skin was done a long time ago when I accidentally fell asleep in the Sun on a beach.

These days twe know more about the risks and the damage that it causes – the endless hospital appointments, surgeries and scans. Not to mention the incredible cost burden put on the NHS!

Trust me when I say the last 12 years of my life have changed me. Mostly for the better. Being diagnosed as stage 4 back in September 2021 really made me wake up and open my eyes into what was really important.

Remember – we live every day. We die just once. Live your life ……..love your life.

Well this morning I woke up to the headline that melanoma cases, the highest risk skin cancer, have written to an all-time high in the UK – above 20,000 new cases in a year.

This follows the news that the weather in the UK in 2025 was both the sunniest and warmest on record.

It makes no sense to me as we know just how easy it is to avoid being caught in the Sun. The simple slip, slap, slop and seek shade slogan it’s all we need to adhere to.

The headline comes towards the end of Melanoma May. This is the month that skin cancer charities around the world really start to increase their activities to raise awareness of this rather hideous killer disease.

It’s the sun’s UV that causes the lion share of all skin cancer cases reported but having said that UV from sunbeds is just as dangerous if not more because of the intensity of the Ray from the sunbeds. There has been a recent cross party consultation regarding the dangers of UV and a report has been produced which makes very interesting reading. The full report can be viewed here.

Only just today we have seen the UK Government issue a consultation paper aimed at Age checks to stop children using sunbeds under new laws. The consultation period is for 12 weeks and it aims to :-

• Toughen up rules to better protect children and teens from sunbeds, including mandatory ID checks
• 12-week consultation launched on introducing new regulations 
• Part of the government’s National Cancer Plan to tackle one of the most preventable causes of cancer

It’s about time people in the UK, and indeed globally really sat up and started to take more notice about the dangers of the UV and how the precautions can reduce the risks of skin cancer.

The damage to my skin was done a long time ago when I accidentally fell asleep in the Sun on a beach.

These days twe know more about the risks and the damage that it causes – the endless hospital appointments, surgeries and scans. Not to mention the incredible cost burden put on the NHS!

Trust me when I say the last 12 years of my life have changed me. Mostly for the better. Being diagnosed as stage 4 back in September 2021 really made me wake up and open my eyes into what was really important.

Remember – we live every day. We die just once. Live your life ……..love your life.