Outdoor Work Adds Up

Around Leeton, a lot of work happens outside. Paddocks, orchards, machinery yards, irrigation, road crews, trades, sport on the weekend. None of it feels like sun exposure in the way a day at the coast does, and that is exactly the problem.

Cancer Council Australia estimates that outdoor workers are exposed to five to ten times more UV radiation than people who work indoors. Not on one bad day, but as a running total, over years.

The consequence shows in the national figures. Skin cancer accounts for more than 80% of all new cancers diagnosed in Australia each year, and at least two in three Australians will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer in their lifetime.

The part that catches people out

UV damage does not track how hot it feels. You can burn on a mild, overcast day, and a cool breeze in an open paddock does nothing to reduce UV. People who work outside in winter often assume the risk goes away with the heat. It reduces, but it does not disappear, and it climbs again well before summer does.

The practical version: check the UV index rather than the temperature. When it is 3 or above, sun protection is worth bothering with.

Reducing the accumulation

None of this is new advice, and most of it is not difficult. A broad-brimmed hat does more than a cap, which leaves ears and neck exposed. Long sleeves and collars, in fabric rated for sun protection where you can. Sunscreen on the parts you cannot cover, reapplied through the day, because once in the morning does not last a working day, particularly if you are sweating. Sunglasses, which protect the eyes and the skin around them. And shade at smoko, where there is a choice.

Knowing your own skin

The other half is noticing change. Most skin cancers are found by people who noticed something on their own body, not at a scheduled examination.

It is worth having a proper look every few months, including the places you do not normally see: back of the neck, ears, scalp, backs of the hands and forearms, which take the most exposure on anyone who works outside. Someone else can help with your back.

What matters is change: a spot that is new, or growing, or changing shape or colour, or one that itches or bleeds or does not heal. A spot that looks different from your others is worth attention even if it seems harmless.

If you notice something like that, have it looked at rather than watching it for another season.

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Source: Cancer Council Australia, Skin cancer incidence and mortality.