Having a well-paid, fun career while hitting a ball outside would seem to be the dream of many. Phil Tufnell lived that dream for 11 years, but it resulted in a major lifetime risk.
Flown out to Australia and the Caribbean, Phil was making international headlines with his career in cricket.
However, the 54-year-old’s health was put at risk when his skin cells became cancerous.
“I had some skin cancers on my face that had to be removed,” he admitted to the Business Telegraph.
“It was a scare,” he continued. “I try to always wear sunscreen now, and I’m careful about how much I stay in the sun.”
The cancer charity Macmillan Support explained that ultraviolet (UV) light fr the sun is the “main cause of most skin cancers”.
This is because the UV light damages the DNA (i.e. genetic material) in our skin cells.
Too much sun exposure – even as a child – is a very high risk factor for the development of the deadly disease.
It is likely that skin damage from UV light during childhood will not show up till many years later.
People who work outdoors, like Phil did, are more at risk of developing skin cancer.
This is because they are often exposed to the sunshine for longer periods of time.
Other outside workers can include builders, farm workers, gardeners and soldiers.
Skin cancer tends to appear in adults aged 40 and above, and there are certain risk factors you simply can’t change.
For instance, people who have pale skin – those who tend to turn red in the sun – are more prone to skin cancer.
This stands true for people who have red or blonde hair, and light eyes.
However, there are certain risk factors you can simply avoid to minimise your risk of the disease.
For instance, any use of sunbeds increases the risk of developing skin cancer, and the risk intensifies every time you use one.
This is why it’s better to not use a sunbed, and if you’ve used one in the past, to never go on one again.
To protect your skin, Macmillan have created a five-step guide to minimise your risk of skin cancer, which is:
- SLIP on a T-shirt
- SLOP on SPF 30+ sunscreen
- SLAP on a broad brimmed hat
- SLIDE on quality sunglasses
- SHADE from the sun when possible
Make sure to utilise waterproof sunscreen that has a SPF 30+ rating, with a minimum 4-star UVA rating.
It’s best to apply suncream 20 minutes before venturing outside in the sunshine.
And it needs to be reapplied every two hours while you’re outside, and most definitely after swimming.
Do make sure to use suncream that hasn’t expired, and store it in an accessible, cool place.
For additional protection, you can protect your lips with a SPF 30+ lip balm.
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