Woman, 41, who was addicted to tanning ‘from sunrise to sunset’ on four beach holidays a year vows never to take risks again after facial ‘beauty spot’ turned out to be skin cancer
- Jackie Hall, from Corby, was stunned when a ‘beauty spot’ turned out as cancer
- The 41-year-old said that it turned black and itchy and began to aggravate her
- A dermatologist removed the mole and it was revealed as stage one melanoma
- Her skin cancer was caught in time as she was warned that it could have spread
A ‘sunrise to sunset’ tan addict was stunned when a ‘beauty spot’ turned out to be skin cancer – leaving her looking like a ‘baby has bitten a chunk out of her face’.
Jackie Hall, from Corby, Northamptonshire, first noticed a tiny freckle on her jawline back in 2020 after her little sister Chantelle Hopson mistook it for a splash of hair dye, but thought nothing of it as she already had a few moles.
The 41-year-old said that it turned black and itchy but because she couldn’t get a doctors appointment during lockdown soon forgot about it – until it began to aggravate her again four weeks ago.
Jackie Hall, from Corby, Northamptonshire, was stunned when a ‘beauty spot’ turned out to be skin cancer
The sunrise to sunset’ tan addict first noticed a tiny freckle on her jawline back in 2020 but she thought nothing of it as she already had a few moles
The mum-of-three sought medical help and was urgently referred to a dermatologist who removed the eight mm mole on the spot and she discovered last Tuesday that it was stage one melanoma.
The accounts assistant credits Chantelle with ‘saving her life’ because her skin cancer was caught in the nick of time. She was warned that it could have spread to her lymph nodes and consequently to other parts of her body.
The former travel consultant used to jet off on four beach holidays a year and would sunbathe from ‘sunrise to sunset’ to get the best tan possible – but has vowed to never take such risks again.
Jackie is due to have another surgery in the next few weeks to prevent the melanoma returning there for good, which is likely to leave her with a wound double the size of the original one.
The former travel consultant used to jet off on four beach holidays a year and would sunbathe from ‘sunrise to sunset’ to get the best tan possible
The mum-of-three sought medical help and was urgently referred to a dermatologist who removed the eight mm mole on the spot
She discovered last Tuesday that the mole was stage one melanoma and it was caught in the ‘nick of time’
The accounts assistant credits her sister Chantelle Hopson (right) with ‘saving her life’ as she was the one who first spotted it
She first noticed the freckle after Chantelle mistook it for a splash of hair dye but she thought nothing of it as she already had a few moles
Photos captured by Jackie reveal her ‘tiny beauty spot’ turn into a ‘horrible black mole’ before she was left with five stitches and eventually a ‘dent’ on her jawline.
After a frightening experience, the single-mum is keen to raise awareness of the importance of sun protection and getting any suspicious moles checked out, as if she had left hers any longer, the outcome could have been very different.
Jackie said: ‘I didn’t like looking at anybody face on because you could see that it looked like I’d had a big chunk taken out of one side of my jaw.
‘It’s almost the size of a baby’s mouth, to me it just looks as if a baby’s bitten me or a mini shark or just something, it just looks like a bite mark.
She was warned that it could have spread to her lymph nodes and consequently to other parts of her body
Jackie has vowed to never take such risks in the sun ever again as she is now left with a left scar on her face
‘I’d prefer to be left with a large scar rather than the alternative of what it could have been, so I class myself as very lucky.
‘To be honest, I wasn’t thinking about me in the whole process, I was immediately just thinking of my children.
‘I suffer with anxiety anyway, so each night I’ve been sitting there thinking the worst about it spreading to other parts of my body, because I was warned that it could go into lymph nodes and if it does, there’s a possibility that it can spread anywhere.
‘So I was panicking thinking the worst and about ‘oh my God, how are my children going to be?’ That’s why I feel so lucky, it’s only a scar on my face and I can live with that.’
The devoted mum said that since the ordeal she’s been too fearful to spend time in the sun and has been plastering factor 50 on her kids Max, ten, George, nine, and Hope, seven, every day before school.
The devoted mum said that since the ordeal she’s been too fearful to spend time in the sun and has been plastering factor 50 on her kids Max, ten, George, nine, and Hope, seven, every day before school
The mum was panicking thinking the worst and about how her children would handle the news (pictured with her eldest son Max)
Jackie said: ‘Just before lockdown my younger sister was visiting me and she pointed out this mark on my jawline and she thought it was actually hair dye and said ‘have you dyed your hair?’.
‘I told her I hadn’t and she said ‘you’ve got a real funny old brown mark on your face there’ so I looked in the mirror and it was a mole.
‘And because I’ve got a couple of them, I just thought it had always been there and took no notice of it really.
‘But then during lockdown I noticed it was getting darker, it was almost black and then it started to itch.
‘But I just couldn’t get into the doctors because no one could and I forgot about it to be honest.
‘But then four weeks ago it became itchy again and I thought I’d better get it checked out so went to the doctors who made an urgent referral within two weeks to the dermatologist.
‘They were concerned about it and took the whole mole out there and then, which shocked me a little bit because I wasn’t expecting that.’
Jackie received the results of the procedure last week and was told that it was stage one malignant melanoma
Jackie is having another procedure in a few weeks to remove up to another centimetre of tissue either side of the existing site, which will be sent away to ensure the margins are clear of any cancerous cells
She’s been advised that it’s all that will be needed to prevent the melanoma from returning to that area
Jackie received the results of the procedure last week and was told that it was stage one malignant melanoma.
Jackie said: ‘It was the second best news I could have had – the first best would have been it was nothing and then the second best would be it’s only stage one.
‘Curiosity got the better of me and I went through all of my photographs from a long time ago and I came across a photo of me and noticed that I had a mark on my jaw, but it was only a freckle.
‘It wasn’t until I looked back through all of my photos I could see how big and quickly it had grown from a little beauty spot into this horrible black mole.
‘They told me that it could have been sun damage and when I was younger – I used to work for a travel agency firm, so I was off on four holidays a year.
‘When I was younger, a tan was the only thing I’d want so I used to use the lowest factors that I could. I was a bit of a tan addict.
Jackie didn’t ever think about skin cancer as it was ‘just one of those things’ that she didn’t hear in young people
She was left with a large scare on her face however she said she feel’s ‘so lucky’, saying ‘it’s only a scar on my face and I can live with that’
‘For me, it’s always been about a beach holiday, relaxing in the sun for as long as possible, from sunrise to sunset to be honest, I was terrible.
‘To be honest, I didn’t ever think about skin cancer whatsoever, it was just one of those things that I didn’t hear in young people really, I thought it was always happening to the older people, it never crossed my mind.’
Jackie is having another procedure in a few weeks to remove up to another centimetre of tissue either side of the existing site, which will be sent away to ensure the margins are clear of any cancerous cells.
She’s been advised that it’s all that will be needed to prevent the melanoma from returning to that area.
She said when she was younger, a tan was the only thing she wanted so she used to use the lowest factors that she could
She said it wasn’t until she looked back through all of her photos she could see how big and quickly it had grown from a little beauty spot into this horrible black mole
Jackie said: ‘I just don’t want to ever take any risks again, we’ll be using the highest factors and staying out of the sun during the hottest times.
‘I’d tell people not to be afraid of the sunshine but to make sure they’re wearing the highest factor possible and to not allow themselves to burn.
‘I’d just say that your health and your life is more important than a golden tan and for people to keep themselves safe.
‘I just wanted my friends and family to be so vigilant and check every single mole on their body and to get the slightest change checked out, because it’s very scary.
‘After my post, I’ve had some friends already saying they’re going to get their moles checked and a friend’s little boy had already been referred to a dermatologist about a mole on his back.
‘That was my main goal – to spread awareness and hopefully help others that may not have paid any attention to it.
‘I said to Chantelle if it wasn’t for her pointing it out, I wouldn’t have even looked at it to be honest, so she’s the one that prompted me to keep an eye on it and go to the doctors, so I guess she saved my life.
‘If I’d have left it for any longer it could have been such a different story.’
Jackie said she doesn’t want to ever take any risks again and she will be using the highest factors and staying out of the sun during the hottest times from now on
Melanoma: The most dangerous form of skin cancer
Melanoma is the most dangerous form of skin cancer. It happens after the DNA in skin cells is damaged (typically due to harmful UV rays) and then not repaired so it triggers mutations that can form malignant tumours.
Causes
- Sun exposure: UV and UVB rays from the sun and tanning beds are harmful to the skin
- Moles: The more moles you have, the greater the risk for getting melanoma
- Skin type: Fairer skin has a higher risk for getting melanoma
- Hair colour: Red heads are more at risk than others
- Personal history: If you’ve had melanoma once, then you are more likely to get it again
- Family history: If previous relatives have been diagnosed, then that increases your risk
Treatment
- Removal of the melanoma:
This can be done by removing the entire section of the tumor or by the surgeon removing the skin layer by layer. When a surgeon removes it layer by layer, this helps them figure out exactly where the cancer stops so they don’t have to remove more skin than is necessary.
- Skin grafting:
The patient can decide to use a skin graft if the surgery has left behind discoloration or an indent.
- Immunotherapy, radiation treatment or chemotherapy:
This is needed if the cancer reaches stage III or IV. That means that the cancerous cells have spread to the lymph nodes or other organs in the body.
Prevention
- Use sunscreen and do not burn
- Avoid tanning outside and in beds
- Apply sunscreen 30 minutes before going outside
- Keep newborns out of the sun
- Examine your skin every month
- See your physician every year for a skin exam
Source: Skin Cancer Foundation and American Cancer Society
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