The Chartered Institute of Horticulture recently published the results of its survey into rates of melanoma among horticulturists and the alarming but perhaps not unsurprising results showed one in eight of the 700 respondents said they had been diagnosed with some form of skin cancer. 

HortWeek wanted to lend it's voice to its campaign and invited the CIH's Jason Daff, Susanna Daniels from Melanoma Focus and Andrew Poole, farmer and agronomist and skin cancer survivor, to talk about the findings of the report, and how employers can support workers within the horticulture sector to take simple precautions to protect themselves from sun damage and prevent skin cancer.

Jason gives an overview of the reports findings, one of the most striking of which was that men are almost twice as likely to have been diagnosed with skin cancer compared to women, perhaps due to the presence of sun protection in some women's skincare products, but also perhaps, Andrew speculates, due to a more 'macho' attitude and a reticence among men when it comes to looking after their skin. As Andrew says:

"When I was a lot younger, it was a cavalier attitude to go out and it was almost a badge of honour to be burnt.

"I had the attitude, well I work outside...my life is outside, I'm gonna be protected, my skin has built up a resistance, I'll be fine.

"But clearly not, it's caught up with me later in life."

Susanna outlines best practice on choosing and applying suncream - crucially not forgetting the tops of the ears - and explains how each incidence of sun burn can drastically increase the probability of a person developing skin cancer in their lifetime.

She also highlights the responsibility employers have to provide suncream, argues that it should be regarded as PPE for outdoor workers, and to that end, CIH is lobbying the UK Government to make it exempt from VAT.

For more information on melanoma in the workplace, how employers can help educate and protect employees resources and much more, visit https://melanomafocus.org/.

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