The early European settlers to Australia found themselves in a land alien to that which they had left far behind. Despite the multitude of differences, many echoed the sentiments of Dorothea Mackellar and grew to love the sun burnt country they found themselves living in. This displaced the love of “grey-blue distance, brown streams and soft dim skies” which once ran strongly in their veins.

Many years later, their sun-kissed sons and daughters have reason to be more wary of the harsh land they call home, to respect “her beauty and her terror” and to fear her “pitiless blue sky”.

The presence of a fair-skinned population in the “hot gold hush of noon” produced a country that has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world, especially melanomas. Whilst melanomas are not the most common form of skin cancer, they are the most life-threatening.

It is hard to convey the human toll and suffering of a disease purely by reproducing statistics, but the ones about melanomas provide sober reading in their own right. The following are some statistics about melanomas of the skin in Australia:

Incidence and statistics

• Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer and melanomas in the world, with Queensland having the highest incidence in Australia

• Melanoma makes up only 2.3% of all skin cancers but is responsible for 75% of skin cancer deaths. In 2007, there were 10,342 new reported cases of melanomas in Australia and 1,279 deaths from it.

• Melanomas were the most commonly diagnosed cancer among adolescents and young adults between 2003 and 2007; it accounted for more than one-quarter of all cancers in this age group.

• In 2008, the incidence rate of melanomas of the skin in Australia (37 cases per 100,000 people) was nearly thirteen times higher than the average world rate (3 cases per 100,000 people)

• It is estimated that approximately 200 melanomas and 34,000 non-melanoma skin cancers per year are caused by occupational exposures in Australia.

Protect yourself

A Crisis Recovery or Trauma insurance policy will pay a lump sum benefit, should you be diagnosed with a specified illness like cancer and provided that you otherwise satisfy the terms and conditions for payment.

These funds can help pay off the mortgage, pay medical bills and meet the myriad of other financial stresses that inevitably arise allowing you to concentrate on recovering.

Not all insurers have the same melanoma definition. So seeking advice from us might be a great way to give you greater peace of mind if you ever need to make a claim for skin cancer. It’s very important to consider Crisis Recovery as part of your life insurance portfolio so call us today so we can tailor a solution to your needs.