Working in hot weather and bright sunshine at this time of year can be unavoidable, but it can pose serious risks to health if you don鈥檛 take steps to ensure that you鈥檙e working safely.
New data published by the charity shows 77% of agricultural workers suffer from sunburn at least once per year and 76% remember getting sunburned as a child or teenager.
The results of a survey of UK farmers also found that 52% rarely or never wear sunscreen in the summer.
When asked why not, 33% said it was because they often forget and 25% said it was because they don鈥檛 expect to burn.
Over a third (38%) of respondents also said they rarely or never cover their skin with clothing or a sunhat when working outdoors in the summer 鈥� despite most reporting that they spend the majority of their working day outside.
Protect your skin
Some 86% of melanomas are preventable by protecting your skin from harmful rays.
Farmer Richard Harvey, aged 80, from Rutland in the East Midlands, was diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in 2018. He said: 鈥淚鈥檝e never been one to spend hours on a beach sunbathing, so it was a surprise to be diagnosed with melanoma.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 used to be so aware of the dangers of the sun when I was younger, so I didn鈥檛 wear sunscreen very often despite having light skin and blue eyes. I used to take my shirt off for 30 minutes to an hour on sunny days and I did occasionally burn, but not what you鈥檇 call severely.
鈥淚 was diagnosed with melanoma after finding a lesion on my chest. Unfortunately, it spread, and I was diagnosed as stage 4 in 2019.
鈥淚鈥檝e been having treatment since and I鈥檓 aware that there is a high chance of the cancer returning. Farmers often feel fit and well and it can be easy to forget to protect your skin when you鈥檙e working outdoors.鈥�
Know the risk
There are around 17,500 new melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK every year and it is the fifth most common cancer in the country. One in 35 men and one in 41 women in the UK will now be diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in their lifetime.
Melanoma is considered the most serious form of skin cancer because it has the highest mortality rate, and deaths from melanoma are projected to continue rising.聽
Research shows that having five or more sunburns doubles your risk of getting melanoma skin cancer and even one blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence more than doubles your chances of developing melanoma later in life.
Further studies show that experiencing five or more bad sunburns between ages 15 and 20 increases your melanoma risk by 80%.
Susanna Daniels, CEO of Melanoma Focus, said: 鈥淎gricultural workers are frequently exposed to harmful UV rays because of the nature of their work and it鈥檚 alarming to see that many of these individuals are experiencing sunburn, which significantly increases their risk of developing melanoma.
鈥淭aking preventive measures such as wearing a high factor sunscreen, wearing a hat and covering up when working in the sun is crucial for reducing the risk of melanoma and safeguarding the health of farmers and other workers who spend a lot of time outdoors.鈥�
