Awareness, knowledge and attitudes towards sun protection among skin cancer-treated patients in France

Background The incidence of skin cancer has risen over the past years, owing to increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Sun protection measures include avoiding exposure to the sun, using covering clothing and applying sunscreen. We evaluated the knowledge and compliance with advices about sun protection in a population of patients who had presented skin tumour(s). Subjects and methods A 30 question self-reporting questionnaire evaluating sun protective behaviour was distributed to 217 consecutive skin cancer-treated patients and completed by 198 of them. Results 72% of the responders had presented a melanoma, and 26% of them had presented only non-melanoma skin cancer. The present survey shows that patients who have had a skin cancer were aware of the cancer related risk of sunlight since 98% of the responders knew that ultraviolet radiations can include skin cancer. These patients did also take sun-protective measures because 73% of them had worn covering clothes when in the sun and 59% of them avoided outdoor activities during the midday hours. Conclusion These results suggest that, after diagnosis of a skin cancer, patients limited their sun exposure; and wear protective clothing. However, sun-protection measures did not seem to be completely adequate. An evaluation of the various barriers to sun safety might be a key to understanding the sub-optimal sun protection.