Not every Australian knows skin cancer is easily preventable and detected in the early stages, a survey has found.
The survey of 1003 people representative of the nation's some 24.6 million inhabitants found while two in every three Australians are diagnosed with some form of skin cancer in their lifetime, not everyone is having annual checks.
In fact, some 64 per cent of those 1003 people had not had a skin check in the prior 12 months, says the survey from TAL, a life insurance company.
Skin cancer is one of Australia's most common cancers, but it is also one of the most easily detectable and preventable.
The results say 88 per cent of the survey group knew they should monitor every bit of their skin for signs of skin cancer, but 72 per cent admit they do not know the four key signs to look for - so 29 per cent of them prefer to get a skin check instead of doing it themselves.
The survey extraploated the results to the wider population and said it showed 45 per cent of Australians did not know what two in every three of them could get some form of skin cancer in their lifetime.
The survey was conducted by PureProfile on behalf of TAL, in October 2018, with a nationally representative sample of respondents in Australia aged over 18.
