Too true: I have done the same but I'm free of skin cancer so far even though Australia has the highest rate in the world: not so friends of mine who've worked as gardeners or farmers.
I guess my Aboriginal ancestry may be protecting me to some extent, because I've only used sunscreen very rarely and tan without burning
I stay out of the sun as much as possible now but in the past, especially when I lived in a remote desert Aboriginal community, I was out in the sun a fair bit and it doesn't seem to have affected me. I do get any suspect moles etc checked out and so far none of them have been cancerous.
I'm not from that country so your apology should be to the Anungu people, who've always made it clear they don't want people to climb the rock. Surely you must've seen the signs?
Nope. It was long ago in the last half of the twentieth century. There were no signs. 80% of visitors climbed it. We were only warned by park officials to stay away from the base of the rock except where the trail to the top started.
Out of respect to the dreamtime spirits, I would never climb it again.
That's forgiveable, Uluru wasn't handed back to the Anungu until 1985 and until then they had no control over what happened on their own country. It's really more about respect for the living traditional owners than the spirits which you or I may or may not believe in. The track walked by tourists is a sacred men's track going back thousands of years.
You can now walk around the base of the rock on either self-guided or indigenous guided tours, but there are certain areas which are "off limits" to either men or women. The other important issue to remember if you ever go back or for other people reading this is you're not supposed to take even small rocks or stones away with you. It may be superstition, but there's a huge basket at the cultural information centre with rocks returned by people from all over the world who had bad luck after taking the rocks away.
You can also buy t-shirts and bumper stickers saying "I didn't climb Uluru".
Did you go to Kata Tjuta, then called The Olgas? That's an absolutely amazing place too, not too far from Ulura.
When I went to Uluru I had a strong feeling that it's not only the centre of Australia, but the centre of the world .... Hoping to get back there again in this lifetime, it's powerful and awesome (in the true sense of that over and misused word) in a way impossible to describe to anyone who hasn't been there.
The purpose of sunbathing is to get a tan, right? A tan means your skin has been damaged - keep doing it often enough and there's a fair chance there's be some permanent damage in the form of skin cancer
My opthamologist told me I have to always wear sunglasses, hats and sunscreen, because he found sun damage in my left eye. He also told me it was rare to develop outside of Australia.
I'm curious to ask you since you're from Australia. I guess your theory about ethnicity makes sense. My doctor also asked me about my ancestry which is mostly Spanish, Welsh, German and Scot-Irish (I think I have some English & French) then he basically told me to stay out of the sun as much as possible.
What exactly is the sun damage called and what can be done about it medically? Does it affect your vision at all? I have the beginning of cataracts, but I don't know if it's from exposure to the sun, more like my age (68) and I can't drive at night because the lights totally blind me - not very safe!
However, very many desert Australian Aboriginal people do have cataracts and other eye conditions and there's a high rate of blindness in the very old traditional people, so that could be sun damage and also daily exposure to camp fires, including sleeping alongside them.
Because of that, it doesn't look as if my Aboriginal ancestry (great grandmother) would protect me from cataracts but may do so in relation to skin cancer: years ago a GP speculated that even though I'm not dark skinned there may be enough extra melatonin in my skin to explain my vitamin D deficiency.
I live in what used to be a country town, now a tourist area, and I often see elderly men who look like former farmers with dressings on their faces where presumably they've had skin cancers removed. People used to call them "sun spots" - how misleadingly innocuous does that sound? A bit like "tanning" - ie exposing one's skin to the sun until it's damaged but a more fashionable colour!
Genetically, your ancestors wouldn't have been exposed to the amount of sun anyone in this country now is and you also have to factor in the changes in clothing: it would've been a bit hard for women to get sunburnt in all those layers the pioneer women wore and the big hats and in those days pale skin was the fashion.
I reckon you're pretty safe if you follow the opthamologist's advice and keep an eye on any skin changed.
is it normal that I like to sunbathe nude whenever possible .
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Too true: I have done the same but I'm free of skin cancer so far even though Australia has the highest rate in the world: not so friends of mine who've worked as gardeners or farmers.
I guess my Aboriginal ancestry may be protecting me to some extent, because I've only used sunscreen very rarely and tan without burning
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thegypsysailor
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RoseIsabella
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Or you are smart enough not to overexpose yourself.
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steve2374
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I stay out of the sun as much as possible now but in the past, especially when I lived in a remote desert Aboriginal community, I was out in the sun a fair bit and it doesn't seem to have affected me. I do get any suspect moles etc checked out and so far none of them have been cancerous.
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green_boogers
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Sorry about Uluru. Didn't know you were aboriginal.
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Ellenna
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I'm not from that country so your apology should be to the Anungu people, who've always made it clear they don't want people to climb the rock. Surely you must've seen the signs?
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Nope. It was long ago in the last half of the twentieth century. There were no signs. 80% of visitors climbed it. We were only warned by park officials to stay away from the base of the rock except where the trail to the top started.
Out of respect to the dreamtime spirits, I would never climb it again.
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Ellenna
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That's forgiveable, Uluru wasn't handed back to the Anungu until 1985 and until then they had no control over what happened on their own country. It's really more about respect for the living traditional owners than the spirits which you or I may or may not believe in. The track walked by tourists is a sacred men's track going back thousands of years.
You can now walk around the base of the rock on either self-guided or indigenous guided tours, but there are certain areas which are "off limits" to either men or women. The other important issue to remember if you ever go back or for other people reading this is you're not supposed to take even small rocks or stones away with you. It may be superstition, but there's a huge basket at the cultural information centre with rocks returned by people from all over the world who had bad luck after taking the rocks away.
You can also buy t-shirts and bumper stickers saying "I didn't climb Uluru".
Did you go to Kata Tjuta, then called The Olgas? That's an absolutely amazing place too, not too far from Ulura.
When I went to Uluru I had a strong feeling that it's not only the centre of Australia, but the centre of the world .... Hoping to get back there again in this lifetime, it's powerful and awesome (in the true sense of that over and misused word) in a way impossible to describe to anyone who hasn't been there.
Sunbathing nude is the only realistic way imo. Why would u want to wear clothes wen sunbathing,likewise at spas. Wen I can't be nude I wear minimum.
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Ellenna
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The purpose of sunbathing is to get a tan, right? A tan means your skin has been damaged - keep doing it often enough and there's a fair chance there's be some permanent damage in the form of skin cancer
My opthamologist told me I have to always wear sunglasses, hats and sunscreen, because he found sun damage in my left eye. He also told me it was rare to develop outside of Australia.
I'm curious to ask you since you're from Australia. I guess your theory about ethnicity makes sense. My doctor also asked me about my ancestry which is mostly Spanish, Welsh, German and Scot-Irish (I think I have some English & French) then he basically told me to stay out of the sun as much as possible.
My skin cancer risk gives me the heebie jeebies!
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Ellenna
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What exactly is the sun damage called and what can be done about it medically? Does it affect your vision at all? I have the beginning of cataracts, but I don't know if it's from exposure to the sun, more like my age (68) and I can't drive at night because the lights totally blind me - not very safe!
However, very many desert Australian Aboriginal people do have cataracts and other eye conditions and there's a high rate of blindness in the very old traditional people, so that could be sun damage and also daily exposure to camp fires, including sleeping alongside them.
Because of that, it doesn't look as if my Aboriginal ancestry (great grandmother) would protect me from cataracts but may do so in relation to skin cancer: years ago a GP speculated that even though I'm not dark skinned there may be enough extra melatonin in my skin to explain my vitamin D deficiency.
I live in what used to be a country town, now a tourist area, and I often see elderly men who look like former farmers with dressings on their faces where presumably they've had skin cancers removed. People used to call them "sun spots" - how misleadingly innocuous does that sound? A bit like "tanning" - ie exposing one's skin to the sun until it's damaged but a more fashionable colour!
Genetically, your ancestors wouldn't have been exposed to the amount of sun anyone in this country now is and you also have to factor in the changes in clothing: it would've been a bit hard for women to get sunburnt in all those layers the pioneer women wore and the big hats and in those days pale skin was the fashion.
I reckon you're pretty safe if you follow the opthamologist's advice and keep an eye on any skin changed.