As a typical Australian child of the 1970s, Cancer Council WA chief executive Ashley Reid spent hours playing in the sun without sunscreen or a hat.
Now, as he puts it, he is "paying the price" and battling the most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma.
He's not alone, with national Cancer Council figures showing men are twice as likely to die from melanoma as women.
In 2020, of the 1,401 people who died of melanoma, 939 were men.
According to leading WA oncologist Adnan Khattak, one in 14 men is likely to develop melanoma compared with one in 24 women.
Mr Reid's career has been about advocating for cancer research, interpreting the statistics and encouraging West Australians to change their lifestyle to avoid cancers that are, to a large extent, preventable.
"I am in it and talking about it all day, every day and of course, you are talking about statistics and then you become one, so it was quite a shock," Mr Reid said.
Shock diagnosis
Doctors delivered the news after taking a biopsy from his calf just before Christmas.
"I noticed a mole on my leg that I had had for quite a long time but it looked a little bit different [so] being aware of your skin I thought I better get that looked at."
Mr Reid, who lives with his partner and their four daughters, said his GP shared his concerns.
"[They] sent it off for a biopsy, [I was] not really expecting anything serious and then [it was] quite a shock to be told a few days later that it was early stage melanoma.
Latest WA Health Department figures, released by the Cancer Council WA, show that of the 310 people who presented at WA emergency departments last year with severe sunburn, 165 were male.
In 2015, there were 50 per cent more men and boys presenting with severe sunburn, which increases the risk of developing melanoma.
Men at greater risk
Medical oncologist Adnan Khattak says the figures are concerning because of the future risk of skin cancer for those patients.
"Melanoma is a very aggressive skin cancer which can carry a very high mortality," Professor Khattak said.
"Unfortunately it is the cancer of Australia and very common in the young population."
Eight per cent of Australians diagnosed with melanoma are under 40.
The Cancer Council said that in 2017, 14,846 people were diagnosed with melanoma in Australia and about 60 per cent were men.
He said work and lifestyle increase the risks and men were less likely than women to be conscious of skincare and suncream.
But there are other factors too, according to the oncologist who treats many melanoma patients.
"Men have less subcutaneous fatty tissue that also leads to much more damage to their skin from UV radiation when contrasted to women."
Targeted campaigns needed
Professor Khattak would like to see men targeted in specific skin cancer awareness campaigns.
Mr Reid says while he has long been careful about covering up and it is too late to undo the damage from his childhood.
"Being a bloke now in my 50s and having that damage done early I am absolutely paying the price for that," he said.
"It is not really difficult to slip, slop, slap and now seek and slide, you know slide on a good pair of sunnies.
"And absolutely know your skin.
"If you see any changes or if you are worried about something go to your GP because all of the outcomes are improved if it is found early."
