Skin Cancers, Keratoses and Melanoma

During the Christmas break I was touring around North Island. Everywhere the sun was shining, and I saw people who had seriously damaged their skin due to sunburn.

This fact coupled with some recent appeal cases concerning gentlemen who suffer from various types of skin cancers, made me wonder just how widespread is this problem?. One Appellant, who has suffered with Actinic Keratoses for many years, only found out a couple of years ago that he could get a War Disablement Pension for his skin problems, when his Dermatologist pointed out other veterans were getting pensions. This man felt cheated because of the years painful treatment, when War Pensions could have been relieving him of the hurt in the pocket, if not the hurt on the surface of his skin.

Many who served in sunny climates during WWII, or post-war in Malaya, Vietnam, or on ships in the tropics, have now got skin cancers. If you were given Atabrine tablets by the medics as an anti-malarial drug this could also have increased your risk of getting some types of skin cancer.

To help your case you must show you have not seriously exposed your skin to further sun damage. So if you have been farming, or in some other outdoor occupation it might not be quite so easy, but do not let that deter you. Talk to your local RSA Welfare/Pensions Officer and make that claim.