Carol Vorderman begs fans not to feel sorry for her after frightening diagnosis
In her late 40s, Carol Vorderman was alarmed to discover 'irregular' little bumps on her body.
Having lost her beloved mum to skin cancer six years ago, when two of the lesions were later confirmed to be pre-cancerous, she feared the worst.
Carol's mum, Edwina Jean Davies, died in 2017 at the age of 88, just three months after receiving a terminal diagnosis of melanoma.
But the television star has insisted that she doesn't want people feeling sorry for her, and instead has urged them to take care of their own skin.
Carol has launched a campaign with Boots to encourage people to wear SPF daily, after experiencing a terrifying skin cancer scare in her 40s (Boots)Teaming up with Boots and Macmillan Cancer Support to raise awareness of the importance of sun protection, Carol shared the moment she saw a dermatologist and received her frightening diagnosis.
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"You hear that word and it's very frightening," she said of learning the growths could become cancer.
Despite having no other 'symptoms', the discovery came as a major wakeup call for the British TV presenter, who is now more aware of the dangers of UV rays. "I'm of the generation where we started to sunbathe," she explained.
"My mother's generation didn't. We were also caught in the formative years, the 60s, 70s, 80s, where we had absolutely no idea of what sun protection was - you just couldn't buy it. I think it was the 90s that began." Carol said that she regularly sunbathed throughout her life, admitting that she was "burning away merrily for many, many years."
But now, her attitude to sunbathing has completely changed and she hopes others will do the same. "With what I've gone through, protecting my skin, then my mum with the melanoma then dying, it's really important to me and my family [to support] what Boots are doing to help customers to keep safe in the sun," she said.
She continued: "I slather myself in SPF at all opportunities. In many ways, the damage is already done, but I don't sunbathe now, I cover myself up."
After saying that she does not want anyone to feel sorry for her, Carol shared a number of simple ways the public can reduce their risk of skin cancer.
"Always wear a hat, always slather yourself in SPF 50, check yourself and if there's anything that you find get it checked as soon as possible," she advised. Research suggests that people around Carol's age are increasingly affected by skin cancer, with the probability of people aged 55 and older suffering with it almost tripling since the 1990s.
A system known as the 'ABCDE' rule can help as a checklist for monitoring changes in moles, with each letter standing for a different characteristic of melanoma. 'A' is for asymmetry, which reflects a change in the shape of the mole. 'B' is for borders, which, if jagged or irregular, could be a cause for concern. 'C' is for any colour change, 'D' is for 'diameter' (moles that grow in size, especially beyond 6mm in width, should be checked) and 'E' is for elevation, which is used to describe the raising of a mole from the surface.
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