Keep covered up. The Facts Skin cancer is the most common cancer in Ireland. There are approximately 7,000 new cases of skin cancer every year in the Republic of Ireland. In Ireland every seven men and one woman in every nine will develop skin cancer.
Most skin cancers are curable if they are detected and treated early.
Long term exposure to the sun causes cumulative damage to the skin. Severe sunburn in early childhood appears to increase the risk of developing skin cancer in later life. Farmers and their families spend a lot of time outdoors and are so particularly at risk from long term exposure to ultraviolet light - the invisible burning of the sun. The risk of burning can be reduced by applying sun block to exposed skin. A tan is commonly mistaken as a protection against the sun but it does not eliminate the long-term cancer risk.