Sunburnt. A memoir of sun, surf and skin cancer

Anne writes about her inspirational journey of beating Stage IV Melanoma in just 97 days. By sharing her story she wants to offer hope for others who have also been affected by the disease.

More broadly she reflects on her own life as an average Aussie and explores how Australia's culture influenced her sun exposure. She looks at the origins of those influences and how they continue to have a strong hold on our culture. By exploring the research Anne highlights the need for cultural change and she offers the view that it will take a duty of care from both the media and sport industries to create the impact required.

Sunburnt is a must read for every average Aussie who spends time in the outdoors.

Skin Cancer is a WE problem not just a ME problem

Anne believes that in order to make a sustainable improvement to Australia's skin cancer rates, personal responsibility as a means of solving the problem is insufficient. Anne has undertaken significant secondary research of peer reviewed articles to understand what drives tanning behaviours as well as Australia's social norms with regard sun exposure and how they came about.

She believes that skin cancer prevention is a community issue and that Australia's cultural norms need to change in order to see substantial behavioural change. Two industries alone had the greatest influence on creating and perpuating Australia's sun exposure norm: media and sport. By adopting a duty of care with regard sun exposure these industries collectively could lead Australia in achieving significant long term reduction in Australia's skin cancer rates.

Skin Cancer Facts

  • It's common

    Two out of three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer before the age of 70

    Source: Cancer Council NSW

  • It can be deadly

    Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and is the 3rd most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia, exluding all other skin cancers

    Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

  • It's high risk

    Every year more people die in Australia from skin cancer than die from collisions on our roads. With an average of 1,200 deaths on the road compared to 2,000 from skin cancer.

    Source: ABS Causes of Death 2017

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