I am 24, live in the UK and have blonde hair, pale skin and blue eyes. I burn easily and tan lightly afterwards. No one in my family has ever had skin cancer. But I am really concerned about the damage that may have already been done.
I have, luckily, never tried to tan, nor have ever been on a tanning bed. However, simply playing outdoors as a child has caused burning. I did use suncream in the summer, but still, especially playing in the sea, burnt shoulders/scalp were fairly common. I have never needed special treatment or had a particularly bad burn, except once when I was 13- I applied suncream on my face but not completely up to the hairline, and developed a thin row of small blisters.
Please can you tell me if this sounds as though I have drastically increased my risk of melanoma; I also want to ask if there is anything I can do to decrease me risk. I eat very healthily, use sunscreen always and wear hats etc., and apply rosehip oil and vitamin E to areas that received the most sun exposure, however I'm not sure if this is enough. I feel really worried about having no control over the past damage, so I'm hoping you can put my mind at ease.