THIRD AGE: Small mole on leg changed everything

SKIN cancer is the most common form of cancer in Ireland, with the number of people suffering from it doubling over the last ten years.

The latest statistics reveal one in eight men and one in ten women will develop the disease by the age of 74.

Bernie Rice, an office administrator from Leixlip, Co Kildare, is still trying to come to terms with the death of her oldest daughter, Sharon, 33, from skin cancer.

“Hand on heart, the word melanoma was not even in my vocabulary then. There was no warning, no real awareness out there,’’ she recalls.

“Sharon was such a vibrant girl. I have a photograph of her taken at a wedding in October. She is glowing, smiling.

“It is so hard to believe that three months later we had lost her.’’

A small mole on Sharon’s left leg changed everything.

In 2006 she noticed that it had got bigger and then one day she accidentally cut it and it began to bleed. Sharon immediately consulted her doctor and was diagnosed with malignant melanoma.

“It was a total shock, but Sharon was very positive. She was a bright, intelligent girl and we never thought at all that she was going to die from it,’’ says Bernie.

After having the mole removed, Sharon, an IT manager, thought she was cured. She got married and later ran the mini-marathon for the Irish Cancer Society. However in 2007 she began to have pains in her legs, unfortunately the cancer had come back with a vengeance.

In the wake of her daughter’s untimely death in February 2008, Bernie established the Sharon Rice O’Beirne Melanoma Trust, to raise the importance of early detection and awareness of the disease.

“We had to do something, Sharon meant so much to us. She was so strong and positive, if we could save even one person’s life through our campaign,’’ says Bernie.

If skin cancer is detected early, up to 90% of cases are curable. The Irish Cancer Society suggest that people should check their skin every month and get to know it, so that any changes can be easily spotted.

Although many skin changes are harmless, the Irish Cancer Society recommends consulting a doctor if you have a new growth or sore that does not heal; a sport or sore that continues to itch, hurt, crust, scab or bleed; constant skin ulcers that are not explained by other causes; or have a new or changing mole.

While most cases of skin cancer are in areas exposed to the sun, melanoma can also develop in places that do not get the sun, so don’t forget to check the soles of the feet and in between toes for skin changes.

The advice is to always wear sun screen and don’t forget that you can get burnt even on a cloudy day.

“There is this belief in Ireland that we don’t really get the sun. If there is a fine day, people strip off and forget about the sun cream. But the Celtic skin is so fair that the risk of skin cancer is greater,’’ says Bernie.

* www.cancer.ie or call the National Cancer Helpline on freefone 1800 200 700 www.melanomatrust.com