Hi
I’m a 25-year-old woman and have always been concerned about skin cancer. I have lots of moles all over my body, and a friend of my mum’s died in her 40s of melanoma, so I feel as though my awareness of it is heightened somewhat.
I’m trying to understand the statistics you hear about sunburn and melanoma risk. I find the information very confusing, as a lot of it talks about an increased risk of “skin cancers” without specifying the type, although obviously this distinction does matter. A lot of information also mentions a heightened risk of melanoma specifically from “severe, blistering sunburn”, but doesn’t mention other less severe sunburn, i.e. slightly red skin that eases after a day. Basically, I’m wondering how worried I should be about this type of sunburn increasing melanoma risk specifically? Obviously the goal should be not to get any kind of sunburn, but we all make mistakes.
Any info much appreciated, thank you.