Damien MacRae has no idea where he was exposed to the sun rays that gave him a melanoma, but he knows it was not at the beach.
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He hates the beach.
"I grew up in the western suburbs and my parents wouldn't normally holiday at the beach," Mr MacRae said.
"I hated the salt, the sand, the surf, everything about the beach. We had a pool at my house but we weren't really pool people either. I would describe myself as a bookworm."
As sun cancer awareness increases, the tide is going out on the beach as a skin cancer hotspot.
Half of weekend sunburns are now occurring while people are doing chores around the home, according to Cancer Council Australia research released on Sunday.
More than 6000 Australian adults were surveyed about what they were doing when they were sunburnt at peak UV times over the summer of 2013-14.
Only 29 per cent were sunburnt at the beach, while 21 per cent were sunburnt doing outdoor sport or active recreation and 50 per cent were burnt during passive recreation or doing chores around the home, including gardening, having a barbecue or reading.
Cancer Council Australia's public health committee chair Craig Sinclair said most people now avoided the beach in peak UV times and wore sun protection when they went.
"Most of the campaign materials that have been delivered in previous years have been focused on coastal activities and beach activities," Mr Sinclair said.
"But people are not automatically thinking of sun protection when they go and do some gardening, or mow the lawn. So our message needs to get more sophisticated in terms of where sunburn is likely to occur."
Despite his lifetime avoidance of the beach, Mr MacRae developed a melanoma on his earlobe at the age of 38, and later a tumour the size of a fist on his chest. Both were removed.
Australasian College of Dermatologists president Chris Baker said it was the first time day-to-day activities had been identified as a significant cause of sunburn.
"UV damage is cumulative over your life, so the sun exposure you've had as a child adds up," Associate Professor Baker said.
"If there are times you are getting this unintended sun, you can at least take protective measures. It's never too late."
