Our cool climate has held us in good stead for great things, like optimal growing conditions for wine, and has also been our protector from many biosecurity threats that have come knocking.

However, there has been one thing that any home-grown Tasmanian will tell you – our sun is hot.

It might not look like it on the thermometer, but Tasmania’s lower temperatures have a bite to them that you can feel on your skin, and that burns quickly after exposure.

It is a different type of heat from the type you find in Queensland or Sydney, with humidity often a cause of the mercury rising. 

While sun damage is definitely not unique to Tasmania, it is something Tasmanians need to be increasingly aware of.

Melanoma can strike anyone, of any age, or background – cancer does not discriminate.

Melanoma Tasmania also has a warning for those who like to seek a bit of sunshine.

It was the Christmas season 15 years ago when Melanoma Tasmania founder Di Mason found herself nursing her mother during a quick and unexpected death. 

Her mother Judy sought medical attention for a sore arm and unexplained tiredness in November.

Weeks later, aged 66, she was dead from melanoma.

"Unfortunately she showed no signs or symptoms until she just got incredibly tired and got a bit of an ache down her arm.  When they investigated they found she had a tumour in the lymph node of her arm and further CT scans showed that tumours had spread,” Mrs Mason said.

As we are well into the festive season and are spending more of the summer months and long Daylight Saving days outside, it is prudent to remember the impact too much UV can have and the threat it poses.

There are things everyone can do to help prevent damage from sun exposure – we all remember the message: slip, slop and slap (although it has now extended to include seek and slide).

Don’t become another victim.