Terri Dwyer opens up about skin cancer battle

Former Hollyoaks star Terri Dwyer joined Gaby on the sofa to warn people about the dangers of tanning and sun exposure following her own skin cancer battle.

In 2014, Terri's world was turned upside down when a routine trip to the dermatologist revealed a small dot on her back. It was removed and tests later confirmed the mole was an aggressive form of skin cancer. She was sent for urgent checks to see if the cancer had spread, but thankfully the results came back clear.

Her cancer battle didn't end there... Since her diagnosis, Terri has been extra cautious about checking her skin and monitoring her moles, with a recent check up revealing a second melanoma.

The 43-year-old mum has been left with huge regrets about her life-long obsession with tanning, and is now warning others about the dangers of sun beds and sun exposure.

Sun Sense statistics:

• More than 100,000 new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the UK each year, making it now the fifth most common cancer in the country

• last year around 2,400 deaths were due to melanoma

• Malignant melanoma rates are now rising faster than any other common cancer

• Those most at risk include people with pale skin who burn easily, those who have had episodes of sunburn, people with many ordinary or unusual moles, with a family history of melanoma or who have previously had skin cancer

• First-time sun bed use by those under the age of 35 years increases the risk of melanoma by 59%

• There is a 75% increased risk of developing malignant melanoma associated with regular use of sun beds before the age of 30

• Levels of UVA from sun beds can be over 10 times higher than that of the midday sun. The average skin cancer risk from sun beds can be more than double that of spending the same length of time in the Mediterranean midday summer sun

• UK deaths from this type of cancer are now overtaking Australia, which has the highest incidence in the world (Cancer Council Australia)