Guernsey's skin cancer rates higher than England

Friday, 7 November 2025 06:50

The latest Public Health report shows malignant and non malignant melanomas are the most preventable form of cancer.

Although the data dates back to 2022, it is the latest cancer report compiled by NHS England for Public Health in Guernsey.

It shows that malignant and non malignant skin cancer rates on the island exceed both the England average and those in the south west, which has a long history of higher than average rates.

Public Health say lifestyle choices, like using UV protection and staying out of the heat of the day in summer, can help prevent skin cancer.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer in Guernsey, followed by prostate cancer.

Jenny Cataroche, the head of Public Health Intelligence, says Guernsey has lower rates of kidney and urinary cancers than the England average, but has higher rates of skin and prostate cancer:

“We can draw reassurance from Guernsey’s incidence rates for most cancer sites continuing to be similar to or lower than comparison areas.

"There are five cancer sites, however, plus the level of all cancers combined, where local rates are calculated to be higher than England and,or, the southwest."

Jenny Cataroche says the next set of cancer data will be published in 2027:

“While we have substantially reduced the reporting lag for our cancer data, we have ambitions to reduce it further still to give us the most timely and relevant information about our population’s cancer experience.”