Her doctor was concerned and referred Ms Buckell to a dermatologist for further checks and a possible biopsy.
Starting to fear the worst, Ms Buckell looked up her ailment online, where all answers seemed to point to a terrifying diagnosis.
‘The words skin cancer practically jumped off the webpage’, she told That’s Life magazine.
Ms Buckell had the disease removed, which left her with a big black hole on the side of her nose.
A worrying 90 per cent of skin cancer cases in the UK are a direct result of sunburn and using sunbeds, according to Cancer Research.
There is a “big gaping black hole” on the side of the mother’s nose, which is an extremely subtle sign of skin cancer that has struck her twice.
In 2021, East Grinstead resident Kerry-Ann Buckell, 35, believed a red, pus-filled bump on her nose was a pimple.
Without giving it much thought, she squeezed the area, but over the course of the following three weeks, it kept coming back.
The famous hairstylist sought medical advice because, even though she would pop the pimple whenever it resurfaced, it would eventually return.
Concerned, her physician recommended that Ms. Buckell see a dermatologist for additional examinations and perhaps a biopsy.
Ms. Buckell began to panic and searched online for her condition, as every result seemed to suggest a horrifying diagnosis.
She told That’s Life magazine, “The words skin cancer practically jumped off the webpage.”.
I persuaded myself, however, that it was merely a whitehead. She went on to say that she has never been a “sun-worshipper” and that she always wears SPF.
Ms. Buckell was seen promptly in spite of the lockdown restrictions, and after a biopsy, it was determined that she had basal cell carcinoma, a common type of skin cancer that affects about 75,000 people annually in the UK.
The primary sign of the illness, a growth or odd patch on the skin that typically appears in sun-exposed areas, was something Ms. Buckell had overlooked.
Unfortunately, unlike ultra-deadly melanoma, it had not spread, as is typically the case with basal cell carcinoma.
“When they confirmed my diagnosis, I was really confused because I had read about people who loved the sun getting skin cancer, but that wasn’t me,” she said.
“It had not spread.”. However, it was difficult to accept that I had cancer. “.”.
Before noticing another spot on the side of her nose three years later, in November 2024, Ms. Buckell recovered well after the biopsy removed the growth.
Her fingers attempted to puncture it, but the wound continued to bleed.
“I noticed another spot that wouldn’t budge, and it was twice as big,” she said.
After two weeks, the spot remained, and Ms. Buckell, a single mother to her 10-month-old son Albie, was growing more and more alarmed.
“I knew what it was, despite my best efforts to remain in denial,” she said.
A dermatologist who saw the hairstylist was able to confirm that the cancer had returned.
Ms. Buckell had a large black hole on the side of her nose after the disease was removed.
“It was much larger this time,” she remarked. It was scraped off, leaving me with a large, self-conscious black hole in my face. “.”.
Since her nose has healed, Ms. Buckell has opened her own hair salon. To better understand warning signs, she took a course in trichology, which is the study of diseases and disorders of the hair and scalp.
Additionally, she examines the scalps of her clients for indications of skin cancer.
“I never thought skin cancer would show up as a normal-looking spot,” she said.
“I am now making every effort to promote skin safety because I can.”. “…
Currently, she is advising people to exercise caution before going outside.
At first, you might feel radiant, but it could put your life in jeopardy. “.”.
Only five sunburns are necessary to increase your risk of developing skin cancer, which claims the lives of over 2,000 people in the UK each year.
Melanoma, the most deadly kind, spreads to other organs and enters the deep layers of the skin.
Because they begin in the top layer of the skin and grow slowly, non-melanoma skin cancers such as squamous cell carcinomas and basal cell carcinomas are nearly always curable by medical professionals.
Due to the delicate nature of the tumors, common symptoms include a spot that keeps bleeding, a bump that looks darker than the surrounding skin, and rough, itchy, crusty patches of skin.
Despite being comparatively benign, patients frequently require invasive procedures to remove significant portions of their skin in order to remove the cancer, which in certain situations can be deformity-causing.
UVB rays, which strike the skin’s outermost layer and cause sunburn, and UVA rays, which penetrate much deeper, are the most dangerous kind of sunrays.
Since both of these emit UV light, they have the potential to cause skin cancer.
According to Cancer Research, sun exposure and sunbed use are directly responsible for an alarming 90% of skin cancer cases in the UK.
