With the local farming community in the thick of harvest and the warm summer months fast approaching, Regional Health Minister Mark Coulton has thrown his support behind a campaign led by former Australian test cricketer Peter Taylor to raise awareness of non-melanoma skin cancer.
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Mr Coulton met up with Mr Taylor, now a farmer at Gurley, this week to highlight the importance of getting a skin check.
"Skin cancer is often referred to as Australia's 'national cancer', with Australia's rates estimated to be the highest in the world," Mr Coulton said.
"With many farming communities right across the Parkes electorate busy with harvest and often working long hours in the sun, it's a timely reminder for us all to get our skin checked.
"Having been a farmer myself, I know the days can be long and it's easy to forget about things like skin protection.
"I urge everyone in the Parkes electorate, and in our farming communities around Australia, to get their skin checked and remind friends."
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Mr Taylor, who has been a farmer for the last 30 years, has had non-melanoma skin cancers removed in the past and watched as two of his good mates - Australian cricket legends Ian Chappell and Allan Border - battled cancer as a result of their long careers in the sun.
That's why he is urging all farmers and those who spend long periods of time working outdoors to get their skin checked on a regular basis.
"The problem with non-melanoma skin cancer is that it could be life threatening but we don't know what we're looking at," Mr Taylor said.
"These cancers are hidden. They're hidden in broad daylight."
Australia is estimated to have the highest rates of skin cancer in the world and non-melanoma skin cancers account for 97 per cent of all skin cancers.
While the vast majority are not life threatening, some advanced cases can be deadly.
That's why, Mr Taylor says, we need to be vigilant.
Having played countless games of cricket in his life, including 13 test matches, almost 100 one-dayers for Australia, and endless hours training in the summer sun, he knows how damaging it can be.
After leaving professional cricket in 1992 for a life on the land, Mr Taylor also knows that many of his fellow farmers may also be at risk from skin cancer.
"I've been on the farm here, just about every day, for nearly 30 years," he said.
"During heavy work periods you're out there a lot. You're out there all day... when it's on, it's on... Farmers and graziers, we are all the same.
"I didn't know non-melanoma skin cancers could be life threatening to be honest.
"I thought, melanoma was the big one and that was all I really knew about. But it turns out non-melanoma skin cancer can be just as fatal.
"We are appealing to farmers to do the right thing - cover up and get your skin checked regularly.
"It's absolutely essential we do this regularly."
Mr Taylor's comments come in the wake of a new report which found that up to an estimated 1700 Australians may lose their lives this year due to non-melanoma skin cancers.
Developed in consultation with Rare Cancers Australia and leading cancer specialists using data analyses by PwC Australia, the 'Burden of Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer' report provided a comprehensive, up-to-date analysis of the potential impact of Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma (CSCC) and Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) - commonly referred to as non-melanoma skin cancers.
The report indicates an estimated 570,000 cases of non-melanoma skin cancers are diagnosed in Australia each year and up to four Australians may lose their life to advanced non-melanoma skin cancer each day.
It is estimated that two in three Australians will be diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer by the age of 70.
