A palliative care doctor and mother is calling for a simple push in schools to make kids apply sunscreen as a way to combat skin cancer
According to Cancer Australia, melanoma, the worst form of skin cancer was the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia in 2021.
It was the tenth most common cause of cancer death.
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Kerith Whittigan, 43, from Melbourne often treats cancer patients during the course of her work.
She says her youngest patient with metastatic melanoma was just 23.
She also had a basal cell carcinoma, a type of cancer, removed at 30.
"It's an awful devastating disease and until relatively recently it was incredibly hard to treat," she said.
She said she discussed the issue in a group of doctor mums on Facebook and had a staggering response.
"One mum sends kids to school with a sunscreen bottle in his lunch box and weighs it when he gets home," she said.
Whittigan has now started a petitionwhich has over 1000 signatures, calling for Australian schools to be required to dedicate five minutes a day at the start of lunch time for students to reapply sunscreen.
"It seems so simple to just ask schools. I think an extra five minutes to say 'right kids time to put their sunscreen on," Whittigan, who has two sons, Elliot, seven, and Evan, five.
"We know early life sun exposure is one of the factors that increases the risk of you getting skin cancer."
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SunSmart says two in three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer and it kills around 2000 Aussies a year.
Staying out of the sun, using sunscreen and covering up with hats, clothes and sunglasses can help prevent it.
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"Schools are not currently required to provide dedicated sunscreening time. Many schools have a policy of reminding students to reapply sunscreen before lunch, but this is not always followed consistently," she says.
She plans to send it to the Australian Government Health Department and Australian School Principals Associations.
"It will quite literally save lives," she said.
Australian Primary Principals Association President, Angela Falkenberg, said most schools already encourage sunscreen use "through school and parent-supplied products, education in the health curriculum and SunSmart practices.
"Any additional expectations must be realistic, age-appropriate and workable within the school day," she said.
A TGA spokesperson said organisations plus state and territory health departments, including Cancer Council Australia, provide national programs for school‑aged children.
"For the last two years, the Australian Government has partnered with Cancer Council Australia to deliver a $15 million national skin cancer prevention campaign.
"The campaign has been divided into two target audiences, End the Trend for young Australians aged between 18-35 and Save your Skin for men 40+."
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