It was during her honeymoon that Sally Parker became aware of a lesion on her lower back.
Her husband Steve noticed it when the couple were in the Dominican Republic three years ago.
Sally, a mother-of-three, said: “It wasn’t a mole but looked more like a graze and was about the size of a fingernail.
“Then I’d forgotten it was there as it wasn’t painful and was in a place where I didn’t see it.”
Then in November Sally and her husband, who live in Heckmondwike, started a keep-fit plan to get ready for a USA road trip to mark her 50th birthday in March 2015.
“We were talking about using sun beds, which I had done a lot in my younger years, and it got me thinking about the lesion again and whether there was a connection.
“It had started to itch occasionally, and I decided to get it checked out.”
She was referred to consultant dermatologist Dr Robert Sheehan-Dare at Spire Leeds Hospital in November 2014, where Sally heads up the pharmacy team.
It turned out to be a basal skin carcinoma, a slow growing malignant skin cancer.
Dr. Sheehan-Dare said: “Sally had a red patch on her back which was suspicious of a skin cancer but needed a skin sample taking to confirm the diagnosis. The biopsy confirmed the presence of a type of skin cancer called a basal cell carcinoma.
“This type of skin cancer would not be considered life threatening but if left untreated could cause significant problems so it was important to remove it.”
Sally has now been cured and will not require any additional treatment.
She did not tell her daughter and two sons at the time.
“My daughter is pregnant so I didn’t want to worry her,” she said.
“Now I’ve had the all clear they’ve all been told, they were initially shocked but realised why I didn’t say anything.”
Sally has urged anyone worried about a mole to go and see their GP.
