Personal coach Kara, from Gravesend, Kent, was excited to kickstart a brand new decade with a vacation to the UAE.

As a part of the celebrations she requested her mum to hitch her for the seven day luxurious getaway.

But her time away might be remembered for one more motive - the second she found she had melanoma.

As their vacation progressed, each time Kara's mum got here to use solar lotion on her daughter's again, she observed a mole on her shoulder altering form and color.

After elevating considerations, Kara booked herself in together with her GP to have it checked when she returned.

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At her appointment her GP referred her to be seen by a dermatologist two weeks later.

"On the day of my appointment with the dermatologist, I suddenly realised it was more of a concern than I had originally thought," she recalled.

"I was sent into a side room and had the mole immediately removed the same day.

"The marketing consultant advised me that they'd had a cancellation, however I might inform they had been involved and needed it eliminated right away."

Two weeks later, she received a text saying she had an appointment arranged with a cancer nurse.

When the day arrived Kara, who has no family history of skin cancer and has never used a sun bed, was diagnosed with fast-growing melanoma.

Luckily, Kara was able to be treated. But had the mole been discovered six months later, things may have been very different.

Kara also had an operation to have some lymph nodes removed, as well as a wider skin area test. Other pre-cancerous moles were also removed.

Now 34, Kara has recently been given her five year 'all clear' and spends her time inside and outside of work, raising awareness of skin cancer. 

She works as a personal trainer, training footballers and individual clients, often outdoors. She has done a course in checking moles and often does skin assessments with clients while training especially in the summer months when skin is more exposed.

Melanoma may be less common than other skin cancers, but it much more dangerous if not found early.

The Melanoma Fund states: "Melanoma is the fifth most typical most cancers within the UK, accounting for 4 % of all new most cancers circumstances. Around 16,200 new melanoma circumstances are identified within the UK yearly, that’s 44 on daily basis (2015-2017).

"Over the last decade, melanoma incidence rates have increased by almost two-fifths (38 percent) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by almost a third (30 percent), and rates in males have increased by almost half (47 percent) (2015-2017)."

Major indicators it notes are:

• Growth - if an current mole will get bigger or a brand new one is rising
• Shape - if the mole has an irregular define
• Colour - if the colors are combined shades of brown or black

Minor indicators might embrace:

• Size - if the mole is greater than the blunt finish of a pencil
• Edges - whether it is infected or has a reddish edge
• Condition - whether it is bleeding, oozing or crusting
• Sensitivity - if it begins to really feel completely different. For instance itching or painful

If you expertise any of those signs, converse to your GP.

The Melanoma Fund works onerous to lift consciousness of solar and warmth safety in sport and out of doors recreation. Its assets are utilized by 1000's of sport golf equipment and out of doors teams to guard the well being and cut back the chance of pores and skin most cancers for its members and workers. Supported by almost each nationwide governing physique of sport, and out of doors organisation, it is the UK’s main supplier of solar and warmth safety recommendation within the sector.

More than 44 individuals are identified with melanoma on daily basis, and greater than 410 with different types of pores and skin most cancers, and incidence is rising quickly. If you spend a number of time outdoor, have suffered pores and skin most cancers or misplaced somebody to this illness, you will get concerned with what it does.

Sunguarding Outdoors

Sunguarding Outdoors is a free useful resource by the Melanoma Fund and supported by the Outdoor Industries Association. It comprises recommendation and pointers relating to all points of solar and warmth safety when partaking in quite a lot of out of doors actions.

Designed for use by people, there may be additionally a toolkit of downloadable assets for out of doors teams and golf equipment, to assist them promote solar safety to their members, encouraging higher habits, on the proper time and place.