A mum-of-two has died after being diagnosed with skin cancer years on from having quit sunbeds and believing she had beaten the disease.
Diane Cannon's 'bubbly' niece Claire had a melanoma removed in her early twenties, which left an 'awful scar' on her back, reports Liverpool Echo.
But since then Claire had abandoned sunbeds and gone on to build a family and graduate with a first-class psychology degree.
But Claire fell unwell in 2012 and began feeling tired and run down.
Her doctor tragically discovered hard, swollen glands under her arm, revealing the melanoma was back and was more aggressive.
It was also spreading in the lymphatic system, a network that runs throughout the body.
Claire tragically died in a hospice aged just 46.
Diane, 55, explains that it "was one of the most horrific times" for the family, who didn't know the cancer could lay dormant."
She added: "You just lose hope, you really do. She was a young woman with a life ahead of her, and she's gone."
The family has a history of skin cancer, with Diane's dad, brother and two sisters all having had it in various forms since 1995.
Diane, from South Liverpool, was diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer in 2020 after her monthly inspections of her skin revealed a growing lump on her nostril, which was surgically removed.
The 55-year-old works to spread awareness of skin cancer through Melanoma UK.
She runs a weekly support group for melanoma patients, and she's starting another specifically for people with non-melanoma skin cancer, which is more common and can be less serious.
She said: "The things that we do for Melanoma UK, what I do just get that message out, is because I don't want other people going through what we're going through, because we're still going through it. We will never get over what happened."
Diane urges people to regularly check their skin for new or changing moles nad lesions and to wear strong sunscreen all year round, avoid tanning bed.
An estimated 21 per cent of melanomas were missed in the first year of the pandemic, with a 68 per cent drop in diagnoses between March and June that year, according to the latest figures from Melanoma UK.
The pandemic meant Diane's lesion was assessed through a closed window, and she had to push for a specialist referral for her non-melanoma skin cancer.
She said: "You must talk to your GP because they're not going to know all your potential history. They won't know whether your dad's got skin cancer, or your niece has died of melanoma, or you brother has had a full facial reconstruction.
"They'll only know what you tell them, so you need to be very, very clear on giving your GP a good, full update on your history."
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