6 hours Ago By [email protected] (Kate Lally)
Carol Vorderman was given a stark wakeup call by doctors after "many merry years". The 63-year-old has previously discussed facing a cancer scare after spending years taking sunbathing to the extreme. Carol said: "Oh God, yes.
I was burning away merrily for many, many years. I'm of the generation where we started to sunbathe - my mother's generation didn't. We were also caught in the formative years, the 60s, 70s, 80s, where we had absolutely no idea of what sun protection was - you just couldn't buy it.
I think it was the 90s that began. "So in all of our youth we were encouraging each other to sunbathe doused in cooking oil." Carol then had a skin cancer scare at around the age of 50, the Liverpool ECHO reports.
She was concerned by some changes in her skin, so went to see a dermatologist, who sent off a biopsy for testing, with results revealing the cells were precancerous. Carol said in an Instagram video: "You hear that word, and it's very frightening". The former Countdown presenter also emphasised that she doesn't want people to feel sorry for her, but instead continues to highlight how crucial it is to be safe in the sun.
Carol had the cells removed, and she has a check-up every year. She said: "I slather myself in SPF at all opportunities. In many ways, the damage is already done, but I don't sunbathe now, I cover myself up.
" Tragically, Carol's mum died in 2017 after suffering from three types of cancer, the third being melanoma. Carol said: "Not a single time in her life did she sunbathe - my mum had a different skin to me, she had moles, I don't. I know that makes you much more prone to melanomas.
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