Urgent surgery for man after BBC sun safe campaign
BBCA radio producer has said he never suspected he could be at risk from skin cancer until he had a check as part of a campaign launched by a former colleague.
Mitchell Barwell, 27, was working at a BBC Radio Derby Sun Safe event as part of a campaign in memory of presenter Colin Bloomfield, who lost his life to melanoma in 2015.
During a quiet moment at the event, Mitchell decided to get checked himself - and was told to make an urgent appointment with a GP about a mole on his back.
The GP then sent Mitchell to see a dermatologist and he is now on a waiting list for urgent two to three week surgery to remove the mole.
Mitchell said: "Even if it is nothing, in the future it could have been something and I'd would have never known. It could have been there for years developing, and get to a point where it has a worse outcome."
"When you're younger, there's a naivety to think anything's ever going to be wrong with you.
"So when they said maybe there is something, it did throw me off a bit. I was properly shocked at first.
"I thought 'I don't even take my shirt off really, how can I have something that's mostly caused by sun damage on my back?'
"I think when you let it sink in a bit, it doesn't matter what age you are really. These things can affect anyone."
Before Colin Bloomfield's death on 25 April 2015, the 33-year-old spearheaded an initial project, with help from the Nottinghamshire-based charity Skcin, to try to prevent similar cases.
It resulted in 479 people having their skin checked by experts, more than 100 of whom were sent for further tests.
Mitchell says he had no concerns about the mole on his back before he had it checked.
"I was never concerned at all. I don't go out in the sun, really. I'll go abroad occasionally and go in the pool, but if I do go in the sun, I'll have sun cream on," Mitchell added.
"I have quite a lot of moles on my back, but they've been checked before and I was told they were fine.
"I'm grateful that I went for the check. I would never have known.
"I never got to know Colin. The stories you hear about him make him sound like such an amazing person.
"Without him, who knows if this campaign would've been running. The work he did to make sure others don't suffer the way he did is just brilliant."
The number of people being diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in the UK is increasing, according to Cancer Research UK.
There are also non-melanoma skin cancers, which are generally more common and usually less serious than melanoma.
Cancer Research UK says common symptoms of skin cancer include a sore or area of skin that:
- Does not heal within four weeks
- Looks unusual
- Hurts, is itchy, bleeds, or scabs over
Follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.