With the summer holidays approaching, many DaC drivers will be contemplating their summer holiday filled with sun, sand, sea and anything else that takes their fancy. But one Dial-a-Cab driver, Terry Hammond (N78), will be very, very careful about how much sun she allows to hit her body and with good reason. Terry - short for Theresa and spelt with a 'y' at the end - has just been given the all clear after being diagnosed with a melanoma (skin cancer), although she will have to keep having check-ups for some time to come. Call Sign invited her to tell her story and in the process to remind drivers and their families just how easy it can be to abuse sunbathing...
   "I have never considered myself to be a sun-worshipper, but my parents live abroad and whenever I went to see them, I'd do some sunbathing because I wanted to come home with a tan like most people who go abroad for their holidays. I'd also go on a sun bed occasionally before going away, otherwise you always get those at home saying: 'Not very brown are you!' I just wanted a reasonable tan...

"WATCH OUT FOR THE SUN,"
WARNS TERRY...

   I would never sunbathe without using a protective lotion, but I didn't really take much notice of factor numbers; suntan lotion was suntan lotion. Now I know that I should have looked at a fifteen or over. What exacerbated the situation was that I had moles and anyone with moles should be extra careful. I just hadn't realised.
   Women tend to get moles on their arms and legs whereas men get them mainly on their torso, but I had one on my back. There was no pain, just some itchiness and a bit of flaking, but I wasn't going to go to the doctor for an itchy back. But sometime later, I hurt my shoulder while at the gym and had to go to the doctor as I was in some considerable pain. He asked my to take my top off to examine where the pain was and then he saw the mole.
   He asked how long I'd had it and when I said several months, he told me that he wanted it removed there and then. By the time I left the 

DAC DRIVER'S SUCCESSFUL BATTLE AGAINST SKIN CANCER

surgery, the nursing staff had removed it and I felt somewhat happier that it had been taken away because of the itching, but within a day or two I had forgotten all about it, after all, it had been removed...
   Some time later, the doctor phoned me back personally to explain that the tissue had been sent away for examination and the results showed it to be a melanoma - a tumour consisting of dark, pigmented cells. I didn't really understand. I knew that melanoma was skin cancer, but I just didn't understand the complications involved.
   My doctor immediately booked me to see a specialist at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. They operated some time later and removed the surrounding areas, telling me that I had been remarkably lucky because the cancer hadn't spread too far. They explained that skin cancer usually spreads outwards first, but then can start spreading inwards and then the problems are magnified greatly. Considering how many months I had put up with this cancerous 'mole', I was very, very lucky that it hadn't spread inwards. It had gone from small to medium before my doctor had even seen it. It could have become large so easily and then I'd have been in deep trouble.
   Lots of people have moles and they come in various sizes, but by the time you are an adult, they have stopped growing and you rarely get new ones. If you do, then a visit to the doctor is imperative. While the cancer is in the skin, there shouldn't be any problems and few people with melanomas get them back after having a surgical removal. Humans have lots of skin and hospital staff will tell you that skin grows back, so it isn't that important how much you have taken away. What is important is that you don't ignore it.
   I now go for regular checks and will have to for some years to come, but you won't see me sunbathing any more or going on a sunbed. No ifs or buts, sunbathing caused my skin cancer. The doctors at the Royal London were also very keen to point out that in their opinion, sunbeds were NOT safe regardless of what the manufacturers tell you. If I want a tan - and yes, they can make you look and feel good - I put on a false one. There are some wonderful tanning lotions around; you don't need to burn your skin - which is exactly what you are doing when sunbathing.
   No one can just stay out of the sun, but it is so important to use a sun cream - preferably above factor 15. I wear trousers during very hot weather together with a loose fitting shirt. Taxi drivers who drive with one arm out of the window should also consider putting some cream on that arm.
   Sunshine isn't bad, it can be quite good for you, but you must not burn. Keep the kids well covered too, because early burning can come back later in life. I don't want to scare people, just to warn them about being aware of what the sun can do. Just be sensible. There were 900 deaths from skin cancer last year. Being tanned may well look nice, but being alive is far better..."

Terry Hammond (N78)