Coronation Street's Sue Nicholls got a cancerous mole checked out after a viewer watching the soap at home noticed it. The actress, who plays Audrey Roberts, took action after Anna Bianconi-Moore, a specialist skin care nurse, wrote a letter to ITV urging her to get the irregular mole looked at by a professional.
While watching a scene that saw Audrey wearing a night dress, Anna spotted a concerning mark on the soap star's skin. She told the Daily Mail: “I noticed it was irregular in shape and had at least three different colours. These are two of the red-flag signals that distinguish the most deadly form of skin cancer – malignant melanoma."
Anna said she was "incredibly worried" for Sue and felt she had to do something. “I wrote that I had observed a sinister-looking lesion and suggested that Sue should see a specialist, sooner rather than later, as it may require urgent attention," she explained.
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Sue took her advice and discovered that the mole had turned into melanoma, the Mirror reports. Following her diagnosis, ITV shared a statement. “Whilst millions watched the same scene in their living rooms at home, specialist skin care nurse Anna was able to diagnose the blemish as malignant melanoma after pausing the TV and taking a closer look," the statement read.
“The 55 year old who's from Suffolk then got in touch with the show to warn Sue to get the mole checked. In the end, almost a year passed before Sue had the mole removed and the diagnosis of malignant melanoma was confirmed. The actress then appealed for the viewer to get back in touch."
Anna used the Ugly Duckling method to detect the mole, which involves looking for a mole that stands out and looks different to the others on a person's body. The two women later met on the set of Corrie, so Sue could personally thank Anna for looking out for her.
The Skin Cancer Foundation described Melanoma as a "dangerous" and "serious" form of skin cancer. It starts as cells known as melanocytes but have the ability to spread to other organs if not caught quickly.
Melanomas can come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours. According to the British Skin Foundation, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK. At least 100,000 new cases are diagnosed every year and it kills 2,500 people each year.
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