A MUM from Heckmondwike is warning about skin cancer after her condition went unchecked for three years.
Sally Parker, 49, noticed a lesion on her lower back while on honeymoon with husband Steve in the Dominican Republic in 2011.
The mother of three, a pharmacy manager at the Spire Hospital in Leeds, forgot about it until last November when she decided to get it checked.
A biopsy showed the lesion is basal skin carcinoma – a slow-growing malignant skin cancer.
Sally opted for surgery, which was done at the hospital where she works by consultant dermatologist Dr Robert Sheehan-Dare.
The cancer was removed and Sally has made a full recovery in time for her 50th birthday in March.
Sally will celebrate the milestone with a road trip across the USA with her husband.
She said: “We all now know the importance of sun protection but when I was young it was the norm to use sunbeds or bake for hours in the sun.
“I now check myself every three months and encourage others to do the same.
“Obviously I now keep out of the sun and will use high-factor sun cream and cover-ups for my birthday trip.”