ITV Border Presenter Pam Royle speaks about cancer scare
ITV News presenter Pam Royle has spoken of her scare after beingdiagnosed with skin cancer and is now urging others to be aware of thedisease.
Pam, who has been the face of Border for more than 30 years, wasdiagnosed with melanoma in August 2016 after becoming concernedover a mark on her left leg.
At first she thought the mark – which was just the size of a pinhead –was from a thorn, as a result of taking her dog Lola for a walk throughbushes.
When it was still there some weeks later, Pam said she sensedsomething was ‘not right’ and went to her GP, who referred her to skincancer specialists at the One Life Centre, in Middlesbrough.
They diagnosed it as melanoma and Pam had surgery straight away.
When the result from the biopsy came back a few weeks later, Pam wastold the cancer was invasive, meaning it had broken through theepidermis – the top layer of the skin – down into the dermis, which is thelower layer of the skin.
Pam, who is mum to Lawrence, 23, and 26-year- old Philippa, and hasbeen married to husband Mike for 33 years, admitted she cried whenshe was first told about the cancer.
Pam needed further surgery to remove the area around the cancer.Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer.
According to Cancer Research UK, around 15,400 people are diagnosedwith melanoma in the UK each year – 42 new cases every day.
Over the last decade, the number of people diagnosed with melanoma inthe UK has increased by almost half and it is now the fifth most commoncancer in the UK.
Unless it is treated early, it can get into the bloodstream and can travelto other organs in the body.
Almost 2,500 people die from skin cancer every year.Although Pam’s tumour was invasive, it was caught early.
After her diagnosis there has been no suggestion it has spread and shegoes for check-ups every three months.
One year on from her diagnosis Pam is sharing her very own personalstory now to raise awareness of the disease.
She is urging people to check themselves regularly and takeprecautions.
One of the most common causes of skin cancer is exposure to the sun’srays.
Pam admits she was a ‘sun worshipper’ and used sunbeds.
See Pam Royle's full report on her skin cancer scare on ITV Border at 6pm
USEFUL WEBSITES
For further information on skin cancer, check out these various websites: