Latest News

SUNBED BILL PASSES LATEST PARLIAMENTARY HURDLE
As campaigners for regulation on sunbed use for under 18's Skcin are delighted that the bill to regulate sunbed use has passed its latest parliamentary hurdle. With the looming general election, it's imperative that the Government allow enough parliamentary time to get this passed through the final stages and make it law without further delay.

A petition asking the Prime Minister to "ensure that, as is the case in Scotland, legislation is passed asap to ban the use of sun beds by under 18 year olds and a total ban is put on the use of all coin operated sun beds." was submitted by Submitted by Andrew Langford of Skin Care Campaign in October 2009 - The Prime Minister's Office has responded to that petition and you can view it here: http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page21580

NOTTINGHAM ADVENTURERS REACH AFRICA'S ROOFTOP

In October 2009 the team of Intrepid Nottingham adventurers successfully reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in less than 5 days to raise funds for Skcin; The Karen Clifford Skin Cancer Charity.

Steve Brown, Andy Campbell-Bass, Simon Atkin, Andy Pickering, Mark Judge, Vili Chung and Jasper Spencer all managed the grueling climb to the rooftop of Africa.

At 5,891 metres Mount Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Africa and although considered to be a relatively straight forward ascent it is a peak that must be treated with respect. The altitude and the cold make it a particularly difficult and dangerous trek. Every year, people die whilst making the trip.

As a professional singer one of the team members and keen supporter of the Skcin Charity; Andy Campbell-Bass, age 46, is more likely to be found crooning on stage than climbing in Africa. He’s been described as having one on of the best voices in the Midlands and even managed a short if not somewhat 'breathless' song at the mountains summit!.

Another team member Steve Brown, age 49 who runs a thriving internet business in Nottingham commented “It's a momentous task changing people’s attitude about their exposure to the sun. In fact, it’s another huge mountain to climb and we are certainly proud to support this cause".

Armed with commitment and steely determination the team achieved their goal raising over £2,500 for the Skcin Charity. Kathryn Clifford from Skcin commented; "We are extremely grateful for the support and determination of the entire team, having met with them since to discuss their trip, I am astounded they ever made it to the summit! "They have shown great courage in support of Skcin and we can't thank them enough for the crucial funds they have raised. This money will go towards the masses of literature that we print each year to raise awareness of skin cancer, advising on prevention and detection across the UK".

The CEBD Patient Panel
The CEBD (Centre of Evidence Based Dermatology) part of The University of Nottingham are looking for people who’ve been affected by skin cancer (either as a patient or a carer/relative) to join a new patient panel.
The panel is a continuation of the extensive work done by the CEBD with consumers which has the aim of bringing people with variety of skin disorders together to benefit from training events, making sure that those consumers who are involved in the development and dissemination of their work are given the support they deserve.

The panel will help the CEBD to create a more effective research environment, and give more support to people who want to get involved in their research. In order to get this initiative off the ground, they are holding an initial training event on the 9th November. The aim of this one day training event is to provide background information on CEBD and their activities, explain what clinical research is and show the many different ways in which patients and carers can get involved and explore potential roles of the panel.

To find out more about the CEBD and the patient panel, please download the leaflets herewith. If you would like to take part or find out more please contact: Carron.Layfield@nottingham.ac.uk

CEBD consumer panel leaflet.pdf
CEBD Patient Panel Training Event Booking Form.pdf

LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit
Skcin co-founder and Trustee, Richard Clifford represented the charity at the recent LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit in Dublin held in August this year.

" This was a truly a landmark event bringing together world leaders, corporations,non-governmental organisations and individuals to highlight their collective commitment to the global fight against cancer. The three day event to which the charity were invited, provided a platform for participants to share their unique experiences, stories and commmitments to the battle against cancer. It was a privilege to be present at the event which attracted people from 65 countries," said Richard.

He added, " One of the many highlights was a meeting with Craig Sinclair, from Victoria, Australia, who is recognised as perhaps the world's leading authority on creating public awareness concerning the dangers of over exposure to UV. We have a great deal to learn from Craig and his colleagues and we have agreed to open up lines of communication. We are in possession of the influencial VicHealth report on UV protection and in return, Craig has returned down-under with details of our hugely successful spoof informercial Computertan.com. "

For information of LIVESTRONG go to LIVESTRONGACTION.org

BAD CONFERENCE - GLASGOW
Three members of the SKCIN Management Committee, GIll Godsell, Anthony Hubbard and Richard Clifford attended the British Association of Dermatology Conference in Glasgow in July.

The SKCIN display stand formed a highly visible backcloth to a BBC Scotland interview with Anthony Hubbard and was visited by numerous clinicians from various parts of the UK voicing support for the work of the charity.

Computertan.com wins awards...
McCann Erickson attended the Cannes Adertising festival having entered the computertan.com campaign into various categories, one of which was the Promo category for which the London agency won two Bronze Lions! This was an amazing result for McCann Erickson who were the only UK agency to win an award in this category. Cannes is a worldwide awards ceremony, and extremely highly recognised within the industry.

Computertan.com was also entered into the CIPR awards (Chartered Institute of Public Relations), jointly with Limelight PR. They were short listed in 2 categories, Best Integrated Campaign and Best Healthcare Campaign and won both!

McCann were up against some serious competition, across a wide range of both private and public sector companies and brands. They were one of only 2 entrants that picked up 2 awards, the other being the Macmillan Trust, out of a total 27 categories. Speaking with one of the judges afterwards, he commented that compuertan were clear winners in both categories! In his words 'it blew all the other entrants out of the water'. He said that the creative idea was true genius, the execution and following results 'phenomenal'!

Sun Exposure!
Skcin and Britain's most read red-top have aptly joined forces on a crusade to raise awareness on the the dangers of over-exposre to UV. Skcin have featured and commented on many articles and readers are directed to the skcin website for further information in the majority of related releases.
For examples please follow these links; http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/health/health/2525066/Cheryl-Kelly-and-Denise-back-skin-cancer-campaign.html

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/health/health/2487019/Ban-coin-operated-sun-beds.html

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2428335/Twice-a-week-sunbed-sessions-spark-UK-cancer-fear.html

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2455196/See-through-suit-for-all-over-tan.html

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2422109/1m-Brits-get-skin-cancer-alert-after-being-tricked-by-internet-campaign.html

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2560008/Sunbeds-users-face-same-cancer-risk-as-smokers.html

Skin Awareness Week in East Anglia
Skcin recently launched a regional skin awareness initiative which took place across Norfolk and Suffolk campaigning to help people become skin aware, as well as sun smart. Skin Awareness Week took place between the 22nd and 27th June and was marked with a series of events in Norwich and Ipswich which aimed to raise awareness of the real and growing threat of skin cancer. For people living in Norfolk and Suffolk, the lifestyle of working outside or perhaps just regularly enjoying the lure of the coastline during Summer months is likely to have led to over-exposure to the sun and repeated incidents of sunburn, which can contribute to an increased risk of skin cancer in later life.

Richard Clifford, Skcin Trustee comments:- “30-40 years ago, sun awareness campaigns to convey how damaging the sun can be to your skin did not exist; so as a result, a large percentage of the UK population aged 50+ now have signs of sun damage and are susceptible to skin conditions such as skin cancer.” He continues: “This campaign was about reinforcing the ‘safe sun’ message but also encouraging the vast numbers of people for whom the damage may have already been done to be more ‘skin aware’; to take note of changes in their skin or the appearance of strange lesions and seek appropriate advice promptly.”

To provide further support to this initiative, doctors, practice and community nurses and pharmacists from across the region had the opportunity during June to attend Lesion Recognition Workshops. The series of five educational meetings, featured presentations from leading skin cancer experts and dermatologists from hospitals across the region, and took place in Norwich, Ipswich, Kings Lynn, Great Yarmouth and Newmarket.

During the six day campaign, 692 people visited the skin check bus which was located outside The Forum in Norwich and the Corn Exchange in Ipswich. Of these, 244 skin conditions ‘of concern’ were discovered during the six days of consultations by dermatology specialists. Over a third of people presented potentially dangerous skin conditions including fifteen cases of highly suspect malignant melanoma (the deadliest form of the disease), thirty nine suspected non-melanoma skin cancers and 126 cases of Solar Keratosis.

Solar Keratosis is a skin condition which is caused by prolonged periods of over-exposure to the sun and appears in the form of crusty or scabby bumps (lesions) which can range in size from a pinhead to about one centimetre across. It is the most common skin condition that occurs as a result of sun-damage and, in some cases, can be an early indicator of a more serious skin cancer. That’s why it’s so significant to have seen so many people with the condition during Skin Awareness Week.

Dr Inma Mauri-Sole, Associate Specialist in Dermatology comments: “We weren’t surprised by the high number of cases of Solar Keratosis that we saw during the week. Not only does Norfolk and Suffolk boast an attractive coastline and waterways which encourage people to spend time outside, but there is a high percentage of outdoor workers, all of whom spend excessive amounts of time exposed to the sun. We found that not enough people were familiar with Solar Keratosis, nor how it is caused, which is why the initiative has been so important in educating a key geographical audience.

“We were, however, shocked by the amount of people who felt that their skin conditions were not worthy of a doctor’s appointment; many thought they would be wasting their GP’s time. In truth, the majority of the skin complaints we saw are exactly the concerns and conditions that need to be checked out by a doctor. In many cases the blemish is harmless but it’s always better to have the peace of mind.

“Even if it takes a month to get a doctor’s appointment, you could be a month closer to discovering something sinister which has potential to worsen if left untreated. Lots of visitors to the skin check stations now realise this and we only hope that awareness of the dangers of sun damage continues to spread across Norfolk and Suffolk.”

Solar Keratosis tends to affect those who have been exposed to the sun for a number of generations. This was reflected in the age demographic of those who attended the skin check station, as 92 per cent were aged 45 plus. In addition, 57 per cent of attendees were male, particularly with patches on skin damage on their scalps or the tops of their ears.

Research into levels of sun awareness was conducted before and after Skin Awareness Week and post event figures show that 22 per cent of people have subsequently visited their GP, as prompted by the campaign. An additional three per cent have already arranged an appointment with the doctor while 18 per cent have the intention to.

The initiative has exposed an unmet need of patients with sun damage within Norfolk and Suffolk and it is hoped that in future more people take sun bathing and associated skin conditions more seriously.

FUCHS FOUNDATION ANTARCTIC EXPIDITION 2010
Roussel 'Capra' De Carvalho a teacher of Physics at Samuel Ward Arts & Technology College met with Skcin when he was recently selected to take part in the prestigious Fuchs Foundation's Antarctic Expedition 2010. He is set to experience immense challenges in a dangerous and extreme environment, challenging himself to do research that will be converted into exciting lessons for his students, helping them with the National Curriculum.

In this expedition Roussel will be, firstly, looking at Ultraviolet Radiation and other important parameters throughout the locations where the team will be. The intricacies of the project are still under development, but it has two main strands – one of which is:

'How Tough is your Sunscreen?’ A Project to engage students in real-life Physics-Chemistry as well as educating them about the dangers of UV radition and Skin Cancer; Roussel has met with our associates RAFT to discuss ways in which he can taylor his efforts to make the most of the opportunity with regard to research and he is dedicated to associating is efforts with Skcin to help raise the profile of the charity and raise awareness in young adults.

To find out more and follow Roussel's progress visit: http://antarcticadventure.wordpress.com

SUMMER SOIREE FUNDRAISER DINNER
On Thursday 4th June, 70 glamorous guests attended a sensational 'Summer Soiree' fundraising dinner held at the stunning Restaurant 1877, Nottingham in support of Skcin. Guests were treated to a champagne reception, sponsored by Savills Nottingham, a three course fine dining meal, fabulous auction and live entertainment from local celebrity Campbell Bass.

Huge thanks goes to organisers and hosts, Savills Nottingham and Big Table PR, the event raised a fabulous £3,800 for Skcin and sensational evening was had by all.

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