Slovenia is above the European average by the number of people (per capita) who are diagnosed with skin cancer. The condition is the most frequent in Australia and New Zealand, where scientists have recently developed a blood test that can detect skin cancer early. The test is currently 80% reliable, and doctors hope it could be used in five years’ time.

Despite this encouraging news, however, the discovery of skin cancer currently needs to rely on observing changes in moles and biopsy examination. The most alarming signs are moles that start changing in colour, shape or size, those that are asymmetrical or get elevated. "Changes in the mole are always a sign that a general practitioner or a dermatologist should be contacted, whether it is growth in height, i.e. when the sign rises above the surface of the skin, or when it spreads into surrounding skin areas," explains Barbara Perić, a surgeon from the Oncology Institute.

Because people have become more attentive to skin changes, more and more skin cancer cases have been discovered early in recent years. "About 87 percent of patients successfully complete treatment with only minor surgical procedures that can be performed in local anaesthesia," adds Perić.

"The problem is patients in whom the disease has already spread. Taking into account the entire group of skin cancer patients, about 80 percent of them survive the next five years, while about 20 percent die because of this disease," explains Vesna Zadnik, head of the Cancer Registry at the Oncology Institute. Skin melanoma is more common in light-skinned people who were often sunburnt, especially in their youth. Zadnik warns that every exposure to UV rays it is harmful, and sunburns are especially risky in the case of melanoma.