Did you know that skin cancer can run in the family?

Around 2,000 lives are lost every year to melanoma. This deadly form of skin cancer is predominantly caused by sun exposure, but it can also be hereditary.

If you have a first-degree relative who has been diagnosed with melanoma in their lifetime, you have a 50 per cent greater chance of developing the disease yourself.

This means that if your parent, sibling or child has had melanoma, you are in a melanoma-prone family.

And if you've been diagnosed with melanoma, it's important that your close relatives get regular skin checks, as the disease survival rate increases up to 99 per cent if the disease is detected early.

In this 1½ minute video, Doctor Hamilton Ayres talks about melanoma risk among families and how you could save your loved ones' lives.