Coleen Nolan has revealed that she was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma on her shoulder and melanoma on her face during Monday's Loose Women.
Opening up to fellow panellists Ruth Langsford, Gloria Hunniford and Brenda Edwards, the singer said that she had noticed a tiny patch of red skin on her shoulder but initially dismissed it as eczema.
"I found this tiny bit of skin that was on my shoulder and it was quite red. I was putting oil on it and moisturiser on it but it just wouldn't go," she explained.
Coleen went on to say that during an appointment with a dermatologist seven months ago, he diagnosed her with basal cell carcinoma after taking a look at the red skin on her shoulder.
© Ken McKay/ITV/ShutterstockWhile she was told it was "nothing to worry about" and that it was a cancer that doesn't necessarily spread, she would have to apply chemotherapy cream or have the skin removed.
After treating the patch of skin for six weeks, Coleen went back to the dermatologist to get the results and asked the doctor to check two tiny marks on her face. He then diagnosed her with melanoma.
© Ken McKay/ITV/ShutterstockRecalling what the doctor told her, Coleen said: "He said, 'If you don't treat them, later on in life that will spread and become skin cancer'."
Ruth went on to explain that now Coleen has been checked by a doctor, "Hopefully they've caught it".
© Ken McKay/ITV/ShutterstockColeen then encouraged viewers of the show to go and get irregularities in their skin checked out, such as "bleeding, crusting, itching and flaking".
This isn't the first time Coleen has encouraged others not to ignore symptoms and to make an appointment with a doctor if something is worrying them.
In a video shared as part of her popular social media series Col's Corner, the 58-year-old addressed her fans: "I want to talk to you today about making sure that anything you're worried about you go and get checked.
© Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock"How many times do we sit and go 'I've got this really weird rash or I've got a spot or I've a lump, I'll sort it out next week'. Or you complain to people and they go, 'Go and get it checked', [and you say] 'I haven't got time.'"
She continued: "Well, I'm telling you, make time, it's very important. It happened to me recently, my sister kept mentioning this little rash on my shoulder. I kept saying, 'Oh it's fine, it's eczema'. I've never had eczema in my life but it was the closest thing I could think of."
© InstagramThe presenter explained that she went to get it checked and it's "all fine now, I don't have to worry about it anymore," before urging her followers to get themselves checked.
Coleen's family has a sad history with cancer. Her older sister Bernie died of the disease in 2013, aged just 52, and her sister Linda, 64, recently revealed that cancer has spread to her brain having initially been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006.
© Ken McKay/ITV/REX/ShutterstockAnother sister, Anne, also had breast cancer, most recently in 2020 when she was diagnosed for the second time, but she's since gone into remission.
What is Basal Cell Carcinoma?
Basal cell carcinoma is a type of non-melanoma skin cancer, which usually appears as a "small, shiny pink or pearly-white lump with a translucent or waxy appearance", according to the NHS website. It can also look like a "red, scaly patch".
"The lump slowly gets bigger and may become crusty, bleed or develop into a painless ulcer," reads the description, which adds that basal cell carcinoma does not usually spread to other parts of the body.
What is Melanoma?
Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that can spread to other areas of the body. It is mainly caused by ultraviolet light, which comes from the sun and is used in sunbeds.
Its treatment depends on where it is on the body and if it has spread to other areas. Surgery is the main treatment.
