Armwrestlers Raise Awareness for Men’s Skin Cancer

DID YOU KNOW THAT OVER 250,000 AUSTRALIAN MEN ARE DIAGNOSED WITH SKIN CANCER EVERY YEAR?
THAT’S TWICE AS MANY AS WOMEN, AND RESEARCH SHOWS THAT MEN ARE LESS LIKELY TO SEE A DOCTOR ABOUT THEIR HEALTH CONCERNS.

With summer in full swing, the champions of Australian Armwrestling Federation (a male-dominated sport) have embarked on a mission to raise awareness about men’s skin cancer risk and save lives. A recent online survey of Aussie men conducted by National Skin Cancer Centres found that 79 per cent of respondents haven’t had their skin checked this year. This can lead to later skin cancer diagnoses and deadlier outcomes.

“You think, ‘I’ll be fine. I’ve never had anything wrong. Why would something happen to me now?’” says Phil Rasmussen, President of the Australian Armwrestling Federation. “My advice to my friends and colleagues is, if you spend a lot of time in the sun or work in the sun, go in and get checked.”

Phil’s colleagues at the Federation hold similar sentiments, sharing their stories of family and friends being diagnosed and treated for skin cancer – a disease diagnosed in one Australian every minute. Their stories can be watched in a short video at skincancercentres.com.au/
upper-hand.

“Many Australians underestimate their risk of skin cancer, including potentially deadly melanoma, and especially men, who are at higher risk,” says Professor David Wilkinson, Chief Medical Officer of National Skin Cancer Centres. “Especially heading into summer, it’s important to take all the appropriate steps from prevention to detection. Closing the loop is important to us.”

Over 15,000 skin cancers have been diagnosed by the doctors at National Skin Cancer Centres this year alone across Australia. Select locations manage high-risk patients with total body photography for the earliest skin cancer detection when treatment is most successful.

“The earlier we detect skin cancer, the higher the chances of successful
treatment,” says Prof Wilkinson.