A mother has shared the incredibly subtle sign of her skin cancer that struck twice, and resulted in a ‘big gaping black hole’ in the side of her nose.
Kerry-Ann Buckell, 35, from East Grinstead, spotted a red puss-filled bump on her nose in 2021 and thought it was just a pimple.
She squeezed the spot and didn’t think much of it, but it kept reappearing over the next three weeks.
Despite bursting the pimple every time it reappeared, it would soon come back again, prompting the celebrity hairstylist to seek medical advise.
Her doctor was concerned and referred Ms Buckell to a dermatologist for further checks and a possible biopsy.
Starting to fear the worst, Ms Buckell looked up her ailment online, where all answers seemed to point to a terrifying diagnosis.
‘The words skin cancer practically jumped off the webpage’, she told That’s Life magazine.
‘But I convinced myself that it was just a white-head.’ She added that she always wore SPF and has never been a ‘sun-worshipper’.
Kerry-Ann initially dismissed the main red-flag sign of skin cancer, a growth or unusual patch on the skin, assuming it was just a pimple
Signs of skin cancer range from innocuous to obvious, but experts warn that treating cases early is key to making sure they do not spread or further develop
Kerry-Ann was self conscious following her surgery but is now using her platform to raise awareness for the subtle signs of cancer
Despite lockdown restrictions, Ms Buckell was seen quickly and, following a biopsy, she was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma—a common form of skin cancer, affecting around 75,000 people in the UK every year.
Ms Buckell had missed the main symptom of the disease— a growth or unusual patch on the skin, which usually affects areas that are exposed to the sun.
Luckily, as is usually the case with basal cell carcinoma, unlike ultra-deadly melanoma, it had not spread.
She said: ‘I had read about people who loved being in the sun who had got skin cancer, but that wasn’t me, so it left me very confused when they confirmed my diagnosis.
‘It hadn’t spread. But the realisation that I had cancer was hard to swallow.’
The biopsy removed the growth and Ms Buckell recovered well—until three years later in November 2024, when she noticed another spot on the side of her nose.
She tried to burst it with her fingers, but the spot would not stop bleeding.
She said: ‘I noticed another spot, this time double the size, that wouldn’t budge’.
Kerry-Ann is a single mother, to her son Albie, who was just 10 months old when she was first diagnosed
Kerry-Ann now wants to do everything she can to encourage skin safety, warning her clients of the dangers of sun exposure
Two weeks later, the spot was still there, and, as a single mother to her 10-month old son Albie, Ms Buckell was becoming increasingly concerned.
‘As much as I tried to stay in denial, I knew what it was’, she said.
The hairstylist was referred to a dermatologist who confirmed that the cancer was back.
Ms Buckell had the disease removed, which left her with a big black hole on the side of her nose.
‘This time, it was much bigger,’ she said. ‘It was scrapped off and I was left with a big gaping black hole on my face that made me really self-conscious.’
Ms Buckell’s nose has since healed and she has recently opened up her own hair salon after taking a course in trichology—the study of diseases and disorders of the hair and scalp—to help her understand warning signs.
She also checks her client’s scalps for any signs of skin cancer.
‘Never did I think skin cancer would appear as a regular looking spot’, she said.
‘I’m now doing everything I can to encourage skin safety.’
She is now urging people to take precautions before heading out into the sun.
‘It might leave you glowing at first, but it could result in your life being on the line.’
It takes a scarily low number of sunburns – only five – to make you vulnerable to skin cancer, which kills more than 2,000 people in the UK every year.
The deadliest type is melanoma, which penetrates into the deep layers of the skin and can spread to other organs.
Non-melanoma skin cancers, like basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas, are slow growing, starting in the top later of skin, meaning that doctors can almost always cure them.
Common symptoms include a spot that won’t stop bleeding—due to the fragile nature of the tumours—a bump that appears darker than the surrounding skin, and crusty patches of skin that feel rough or itchy.
Whilst this type of skin cancer is relatively harmless, patients often have to undergo invasive operations to remove large chunks of their skin, in order to remove the cancer—which in some cases can be disfiguring.
The most harmful type of sunrays are UVB rays which hit the outer most layer of the skin and cause sunburn, as well as UVA rays which penetrate much deeper.
Both of these are ultraviolet, meaning they can cause skin cancer.
A worrying 90 per cent of skin cancer cases in the UK are a direct result of sunburn and using sunbeds, according to Cancer Research.