A Labour MP on Monday warned the public to “take skin cancer seriously” as he revealed he had been diagnosed with melanoma in his lung.
Sir Chris Bryant said he was first diagnosed with a “particularly vicious form” of skin cancer five years ago and was given just a 40 per cent chance of living.
He beat the disease with targeted therapy. But in January, while campaigning for the Kingswood by-election, his doctor informed him that the cancer was back in his right lung.
The Rhondda MP said: “They put a robot in my lung they cut a little bit out and it did turn out indeed to be a melanoma in my lungs, not lung cancer, but skin cancer in my lung.
“In years gone by that might have been a death sentence. But thanks to immunotherapy which I'm now on my chances of being completely cancer free in the 10-15 years time are really really good.
“The immunotherapy is tough, especially when you're on the combination treatment as I have been recently. It's not as tough as chemotherapy, but thank goodness for the innovations that doctors have brought in. I have every hope of being completely cancer free for the rest of my life.”
He pleaded with people to “cover up and use high factor sun cream” to protect from sun damage.
“Please, please, please take skin cancer seriously,” Sir Chris added.
“If you're in doubt about a mole, get it checked out. Secondly, please protect yourself from the sun. All of this is skin damage, it’s sun damage in the end and it can be avoided.
“Cover up, use high factor sun cream and make sure in particular kids are protected from the sun. We can save ourselves some skin cancer.”Common signs of melanoma to check for include: a new, abnormal mole or an existing mole that appears to be growing or changing and changes to previous patches of normal skin.
There are around 16,700 new melanoma cases in the UK every year and it is the fifth most common cancer in Britain, according to Cancer Research. Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting, who was beat kidney cancer in 2021, said: “Sending all the love to Chris for his treatment and recovery. I hope everyone sees and hears his warning about melanoma.”
