Farmers reminded to protect themselves from skin cancer
23rd May 2025
“Farmers need to take an interest in themselves and put their health before their farms,” said Susanna Daniels, CEO of Melanoma Focus. The charity has recently carried out a study which revealed that over half of British farmers rarely or never wear sunscreen in the summer.
The results of a survey of UK farmers also found that 77% of agricultural workers suffer from sunburn at least once per year, while 76% of respondents remember getting sunburnt as a child or teenager.
When asked why they were not regularly wearing sunscreen, 33% of respondents said it was because they often forget, and 25% said that they do not expect to burn.
Over a third (38%) of farmers also said they rarely or never cover their skin with clothing or a sunhat when working outdoors in the summer. This is despite most reporting that they spend the majority of their working day outside.
Highly preventable cancer
Ms Daniels explained that agricultural workers are frequently exposed to harmful UV rays because of the nature of their work, and it is alarming to see that many of these individuals are experiencing sunburn, which significantly increases their risk of developing melanoma – a deadly form of skin cancer.
“We emphasise that farmers should avoid sunburns, as more than five sunburns in your lifetime double your risk of melanoma skin cancer.
“A further study indicates that experiencing five or more bad sunburns between ages 15 and 20 increases your melanoma risk by 80%. People should be aware of this.
“Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the UK, but it is highly preventable. What’s more, if melanoma is treated early, it’s highly curable,” the expert added.
There are around 17,500 new melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK every year. One in 35 men and one in 41 women in the UK will now be diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in their lifetime.
Melanoma is considered the most serious form of skin cancer because it has the highest mortality rate, and deaths from melanoma are projected to continue to rise.
86% of melanomas are preventable by protecting your skin from harmful rays.
‘Farm safety goes beyond’
80-year-old farmer Richard Harvey from Rutland in the East Midlands was diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in 2018.
He said: “I’ve never been one to spend hours on a beach sunbathing, so it was a surprise to be diagnosed with melanoma.
“We didn’t used to be so aware of the dangers of the sun when I was younger, so I didn’t wear sunscreen very often despite having light skin and blue eyes. I used to take my shirt off for 30 minutes to an hour on sunny days, and I did occasionally burn, but not what you’d call severely.”
Mr Harvey was diagnosed with melanoma after finding a lesion on his chest. Unfortunately, the cancer spread, and he was diagnosed as stage 4 in 2019.
“I’ve been having treatment since, and I’m aware that there is a high chance of the cancer returning. Farmers often feel fit and well, and it can be easy to forget to protect your skin when you’re working outdoors,” the farmer added.
Stephanie Berkeley, manager at the Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies), emphasised that farm safety goes beyond working safely with livestock, transport or machinery.
“Working in agriculture means you spend a lot of time outside and means you have far more sun exposure than people who work indoors.
“Despite the well-established (and continuously growing) body of evidence linking sun exposure and skin cancer, there are many farmers out there who are still regularly suffering from sunburn.
“We’d urge all farm workers to remember that they are the agriculture industry’s biggest assets and to be sun safe and know their skin.”
READ MORE: Farmers warned of melanoma as awareness month launches
Signs of melanoma skin cancer
The charity team explained that there are two most common signs of melanoma skin cancer: the appearance of a new mole or lesion on your body and a change in an existing mole or lesion, such as a change in shape, colour, bleeding or itching.
People with pale skin, blue eyes and those who have many moles on their body are significantly more likely to develop melanoma than those with darker skin tones. That said, everyone should adopt safe sun practices to protect their skin.
The Melanoma Focus CEO concluded by saying that taking preventive measures such as wearing a high-factor sunscreen, wearing a hat and covering up when working in the sun is crucial for reducing the risk of melanoma and safeguarding the health of farmers and other workers who spend a lot of time outdoors.
The charity encourages anyone who has noticed changes in their moles or lesions to contact their GP.
Many of these moles or lesions do not end up being anything serious, however, it is always important to be diagnosed early as early-stage melanomas are generally curable.
May has been called Melanoma Awareness Month. Visit the charity’s website to learn more or call the free and confidential Melanoma Helpline on 0808 801 0777.
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