Skin cancer

Recent reports highlight the growing munbers of people getting skin cancer especially in younger age groups. Perhaps the time has come for the physiotherapy profession in the UK to embrace a wider health education role and instead of restricting its education to mainly postural and exercise education it promotes health in the widest sense. UV skin damage through sunbathing is a long recognised risk but what many members of the profession do not realise is that physiotherapists at one time undertook ultraviolet treatment, themselves not doubt contributing to patients' UV damage to their skins although in a worthy cause (usually trying to treat psoriasis or acne ) Physiotherapists being a fun loving bunch, are also are at risk of skin cancer from summer holidays spent on the beach. maybe we will be facing a situation in the future where smoking declines and with it lung cancer to be replaced by skin cancer as a higher risk. The problem is that it is possible to tax or ban smoking but you cannot do that with the sun.