West Sussex fashion vlogger and skin cancer survivor talks about her shocking experience: Haywards Heath’s Annemarie Moore urges people to stay safe in the sun

Annemarie Moore, 61, runs the YouTube channel @Myover50fashionlife and currently has almost 40,000 subscribers.

She formerly worked in corporate finance and wrote a fashion blog on the side until lockdown ended when she moved to vlogging full time.

She said her cancer experience began with a mole on the inside of her leg, which had been there for around eight years and started to change in 2018.

She said: “I was concerned because it looked to me like it was getting bigger. So I got it checked by a dermatologist who said it was an A-typical mole. I was travelling abroad a lot for work at the time and really busy, so I thought it was done and dusted.”

But Annemarie, who lives in Haywards Heath with her partner John, examined the mole again during lockdown in 2020.

She decided to get it looked at for a second time with a different specialist. This time she was told it was a surface melanoma, which is also known as superficial spreading melanoma.

Annemarie said: “Thankfully, it hadn’t spread so they were able to do a wide incision and cut it out. I was relieved it had been removed but shocked after initially I was told it was just a mole. It just emphasises that if you feel you are not happy with something, you should always follow up.”

Annemarie, who said she was ‘a bit of a sun worshipper’ as a teen now has regular checks and recommends people enjoy the sun safely.

She said: “I’m religious about staying safe and using factor 50. And hats are really useful too – I have a great foldable one which I carry in my bag in summer! We all want to enjoy the sunshine, of course. But getting sunburnt increases your chance of getting skin cancer.”

She said nine in ten melanoma cases each year in the UK could be prevented by people taking care in the sun by using a combination of shade, clothing and sunscreen.

Cancer Research UK and Nivea Sun recommend: regularly seeking shade, especially between 11am and 3pm; covering up with clothes, a wide-brimmed hat and UV protection sunglasses; and applying sunscreen regularly and generously with at least SPF15 and four or five stars. They said people at high risk of skin cancer are people with lighter skin tones and naturally light-coloured hair or eyes, as well as people with lots of moles and freckles, or a family history of skin cancer. Signs of skin cancer include changes to a mole, a sore that doesn’t heal or any unusual changes to an area of a person’s skin.

Health Information Manager at Cancer Research UK, Beth Vincent, said: “Melanoma skin cancer is the UK’s fifth most common cancer, so we’re grateful to Annemarie for lending her voice to our campaign with Nivea Sun. It’s important to remember the sun isn’t only strong abroad. Even on a cloudy day, it can be strong enough to burn between mid-March and mid-October. The sun is also strongest during the middle of the day, not necessarily when it’s hottest.”