Deborah Meaden has urged others to be aware of potential signs of skin cancer, after her make-up artist played an important role in the TV star's diagnosis.
The Dragons' Den favourite, 63, was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in 2015, which is the second most common form of skin cancer, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation, and the majority of the cases can be easily treated.
The businesswoman spoke about the lead-up to her diagnosis and how her habits have changed since, on Boots' Taboo Talk podcast, hosted by Vogue Williams.
She told the TV presenter she was aware of how much the sun could damage her skin, going on: "I’m quite fair-skinned but oddly I’ve never really burnt and I think that was a problem for me.
“I kind of thought that I was immune to it… I thought, I might look fair, but obviously my skin can handle it. So it was a bit of a shock when I realised there was some damage done.”
Deborah revealed it was her make-up artist who told her something wasn't right.
“I was filming Dragon’s Den, and I don’t get spots, but my make-up artist had noticed what looked like a whitehead that had been on my face for probably about six weeks,” she said.
“She kept saying, ‘That’s not right, Deborah’, and I thought, ‘OK that’s really weird, I don’t usually get spots’. I was going off to Africa and I thought, before I go, I just need to get that checked out.
“I sent a picture to my doctor, who said it could be something, it might not, but it could be something. Then he got me an appointment with a local hospital and I went along and they told me, ‘You’ve got a squamous’.”
After she returned from Africa, Deborah had the squamous removed.
She went on: “When I say I was lucky, we caught it incredibly early. I’m evangelical now about saying to people, if you’ve got a little odd pimple that won’t go, don’t just think it’s a pimple."
“I’ve always looked for moles, I know all the rules about moles, I’ve never looked for something that actually looked like a whitehead. I would never have known if it wasn’t for Sue, thank goodness.”
Deborah said her current diagnosis is "completely clear" but that she is prone to getting another squamous if she doesn't protect her skin from the sun.
“My prognosis is factor 50, I wear a hat when I’m outside all of the time, and watch my skin. I do have regular skin checks over my whole skin," Deborah added.
According to Cancer Research UK, most skin cancers are caused by exposure to the sun, through long term exposure or short periods of intense burning and exposure.
The Cancer Research UK website says: "The ultraviolet light in sunlight damages the DNA in the skin cells. This damage can happen years before a cancer develops."
