Early detection critical as skin cancer rates soar

The warning comes from Cancer Council Queensland, which also found people living in regional and remote areas make up 39 per cent of melanoma cases in the state.

The most up to date statistics from Cancer Council Queensland reported 1583 people living in regional and remote areas were diagnosed with melanoma and 278 of them died from the cancer in 2021.

A Queensland Health spokesperson said prevention, early detection and access to health care professionals had never been more critical.

"Projections estimate that 57,482 Queenslanders could be diagnosed with melanoma ...tragically, around 4738 deaths from melanoma are predicted during this time-frame," the spokesperson said.

"The good news is that skin cancer is largely preventable, and when it does occur, early detection makes treatment much easier."

Early detection is front of mind for Darling Downs grower Murray Wise.

The Bowenville grower goes to his local GP every six months for check ups, which includes a skin check, and credits his doctor for detecting and treating anything suspicious.

"My GP took a mole off the other day that he thought was getting a bit dark," he said.

"All the years I have sat in an open tractor resting my hand on the mud guard, you would think I would have multiple skin cancers...but you never know, you have to watch out.

"I have a mate who is forever getting things cut out...recently he went to show them a little mark on his skin and they had to cut out a cricket ball size chunk out of his leg and he's had skin grafts...so it pays to get checked."

In recent years, funding has been focused on bridging the gap between service accessibility in metropolitan areas and regional Queensland to improve early detection rates and provide options for communities with limited or no access.

In June 2022 the Queensland government announced an additional $8.4 million, four year commitment, to fund a skin cancer prevention and early detection project, to address the lack of services available for rural and regional communities.

This included CheckUP; a skin cancer early detection pilot outreach service.

It has already been offered in south west, central Queensland, Mackay, Townsville and north west hospital and health services, offering skin cancer risk assessments, clinical skin assessments, treatment and education to risk and prevention.

"This service, led by GPs who visit under-resourced communities with limited or no doctors, provides essential early detection services across smaller communities," a Queensland Health spokesperson said.

"Workshops to improve GPs' skills in detecting and treating skin cancers have also been delivered under this initiative."

The free upskilling workshops are offered in Mount Isa, Roma, Mackay and Rockhampton.

In this month's budget, the Australian government also announced a national skin cancer prevention campaign worth $15 million, which is aimed at reaching groups most at risk.