Melanoma a very real threat

Rockingham man Bill Quirk, who lost his wife Doreen to melanoma 13 years ago this month, wants to emphasise the importance of being sun smart and looking after your body in summer.

Statistics from the Cancer Council revealed between 95 and 99 per cent of skin cancers were caused by exposure to the sun, and Australia-wide GPs saw more than one million patients per year.

Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer, and Mr Quirk said his wife passed away after battling the “terrible disease” for nearly four years.

“All these people down on the beach laying in the sun think it won’t happen to them, but it can... it’s a very dangerous disease,” he said.

“If you have moles on your body, get them checked as it goes really bad quickly.”

Mr Quirk said his wife Doreen had moles on her body and she was a keen gardener who spent a lot of time outdoors.

“We found out that she knew about a bad mole and she never got it checked because she didn’t want to worry anybody... by then it was too late,” he said.

“Melanoma is a hell of a way to go.”

Mr Quirk said his wife was missed terribly by the whole family and he said skin cancer could be preventable if people looked after themselves in the sun.

According to the Cancer Council, incidences of skin cancer in Australia are among the highest in the world, and two in three people would be diagnosed by the time they turned 70.