Campaigner looks to put a cap on melanoma cases

It may have been a summer for rain rather than sun, but a group of people in Cork who have been affected by melanoma are determined to protect children from harmful UV rays.

The Sunny Days Melanoma Cancer Awareness campaign has got four schools, three in Cork and one in Kerry, to sign up to a sun hat pilot project which this month will see groups of children in each school wearing sunhats throughout the month of September.

That is because the UV index is at its highest from April through to September. Internationally, many countries are now being proactive in this regard. In Australia, every school has a “no hat, no play” policy and many schools in the UK are now considered “sun-safe” — they provide shade where possible in schoolyards and children must wear sun hats from April to October.