It could happen to you

Ann Collins

FOR most Australians a childhood spent outdoors is the norm, but many are now paying the price for their fun in the sun.

For the second instalment in The Reporter’s skin cancer campaign, we have been talking to Logan residents dealing with the aftermath of a lifetime spent under the harsh Australian sun.

Ann Collins is one of these people.

Recently Mrs Collins noticed a small patch of dry skin on the side of her nose which had grown tender, but after twice booking into the doctor to get it checked out, and twice having it heal before the appointment, she thought nothing of it.

But when it came back yet again she bit the bullet and had it looked at.

“I thought it wouldn’t have been anything,” Mrs Collins said.

But a biopsy revealed the patch was a basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer.

Although it’s rarely deadly, it can cause significant disfigurement.

Mrs Collins said spending her childhood in the sun might have been to blame for the skin cancer.

“I’ve never sunbaked but I did play outdoors,” Mrs Collins said.

“I didn’t wear sunscreen. I’m 65, all of this came in later. The only suncream (when I was younger) was actually tanning oil.

“I was outside a lot, we’d go to the park after school, we’d walk home. We’d never be stuck inside.”

Mrs Collins is now facing an operation where skin from her cheek will be grafted onto her nose after the cancer is removed, and she has vowed to take more precautions in the future.

“If I’m going to be spending a whole day in the sun, I’ll put on suncream and a hat,” she said.

• Queensland has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world, and two out of three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer by the time they’re 70.

What’s more, skin cancer accounts for 80 per cent of all new cancers diagnosed each year.

For more information about skin cancer, visit www.cancerqld.org.au.