Skin cancer specialists booked up
West Australians with skin cancer are waiting up to six months to see a dermatologist, as health experts count the financial and personal costs of baby boomers spending years out in the sun when they were young.
Experts say the surge in new cancers is fuelled by people born in the 1930s, 40s and 50s who spent much of their childhood and young adult life in the sun with little protection.
But the next wave is also starting in those born in the 1960s and 70s before the first skin cancer campaign Slip, Slop, Slap began in 1981.
Cancer Council WA director of education and research Terry Slevin estimated the cost of treating skin cancers nationally was nudging $1.2 billion a year and rising, with more than 77,000 non-melanoma cases treated in WA in 2010.
While a report in the Medical Journal of Australia last year put the cost of diagnosing and treating skin cancers at about $700 million a year, Mr Slevin said it did not include an estimated $180 million in patients' out-of-pocket expenses, or the cost of treating the more dangerous melanomas. Many middle-aged people suffered a lot of childhood sunburn and were only seeing the effects now.
"The good news is we are starting to see a change in the behaviour of younger people because of our prevention efforts but we need a more consistent investment, and the tobacco story is a good example of needing a sustained effort over many years," Mr Slevin said.
There are only 38 dermatologists in WA, plus six registrars, and for some their next available appointment is early next year.
Australasian College of Dermatologists' president Stephen Shumack said while some of the more experienced dermatologists had long waiting times, urgent cases were usually accommodated quickly, and many GPs were competent at diagnosing skin cancers.
"But Australia is the world's skin cancer capital, and dermatologists don't just deal with that, but with other conditions such as eczema, which are also quite common, so of course we could do with more dermatologists," he said.
