Now that global warming has helped destroy parts of the ozone layer, doctors are making even more intensive efforts to tell patients how important it is to take care in the sun and to forget about that all-over body tan. For melanoma cancer is set to be one of Britain's biggest problems in the coming years and not enough people know about it. We tell just what it is and how to protect yourself from it. If, as scientists believe, the British climate is gradually warming, then one of the biggest threats to our health will probably the rise in skin cancers. So this summer you may do well to rethink about your vanity and consider whether that all-over tan could do you more harm than good.
Malignant melanoma is a type of cancer of the skin.
The cells that become cancerous in malignant melanoma are called 'melanocytes'. The job of melanocytes is to make a pigment or colouring for the skin. The pigment helps to protect the body from the ultraviolet light of the sun which can cause burns. Races that originally come from hotter climates with more sunshine tend to have naturally darker skins. They do not have more of the melanocyte cells than paler races, but their melanocytes are more active, making more of the pigment.