The . sun was shining as I enjoyed a latte at a pavement cafe recently when I . started frantically rummaging in my handbag. Watching my anxiety, my . colleagues assumed I had mislaid my iPhone or my wallet. But no, . this was far more serious. 'I need my sunscreen,' I explained, trying to . keep the note of panic out of my voice. I could see by the stunned look . on their faces that they found it hard to take  me seriously. I . can't really blame them. After all, tans never really went out of . fashion, despite the health warnings. To most, a tan means confidence . and self-esteem. The usual reaction from friends and colleagues when one . appears, bronzed after a foreign holiday, is to comment on 'how well' you look. Scroll down for video . Michelle in July after her cancer was removed (l) and recently wearing no makeup on her new nose (r) Consequently, most young women can't see the harm in . allowing a few rays of the gentle British summer sunshine to play over . their faces, and give them what they think is a 'healthy' glow. But - as I have discovered - there is no such thing as a healthy tan. And I have the scar on my face to prove it. Earlier . this year, I was treated for basal cell carcinoma. It left me with a . gaping hole on the side of my nose, which had to be reconstructed with . plastic surgery, and there is a possibility the cancer may return. Basal . cell carcinoma is the cancer actor Hugh Jackman was diagnosed with. Left untreated, it would have eaten away and damaged surrounding tissue. So, forgive me if I sound fanatical. My factor 50 sunscreen is just . about the most important thing in my bag. I carry it everywhere and . apply it religiously at least twice a day - more if I am sitting . directly in the sun. I have no doubt that, if I can get cancer, any . woman can. I'm 34 and I didn't go abroad until I was 18. Growing up in a . working-class family in Hull, foreign holidays were beyond us. The only . sunshine I encountered as a child was in England, and I never wore . sunscreen. Michelle pictured before the incident . My brush with cancer did not start with a mole - as most . people imagine - but with an innocent-looking pimple. I first noticed it . on the right side of my nose in spring last year. I haven't had spots . since I was a teenager. Irritated, I blamed my moisturiser and . swapped to another brand. When it still didn't clear up, I decided my . diet was to blame and tried to improve it. The pimple disappeared for a few weeks but then it came back. In desperation I invested in an expensive anti-spot cream. But . still it came and went. Sometimes it was raised, sometimes it was just a . red mark. I know now that this changeability is a classic sign of . cancer. The surgeon had to take skin from the cheek to fill in the hole where the cancer and surrounding tissue was . I'd associated skin cancer purely with moles - I have a few . and keep a close eye on them. And, as I later discovered, the medics I . consulted were just as ignorant. When I finally went to an NHS . walk-in centre near my home in South London, five months after I'd first . noticed the spot, my major concern was my appearance. I was embarrassed . about being so vain.After all, who gets medical help for a spot on . her nose? The nurse who examined me didn't take it seriously either. Telling me not to worry, she prescribed antibiotics to clear up the . 'infection'. So when the spot still didn't clear, it never occurred . to me to return. I didn't realise that the cancer was burrowing its way . into my skin. The longer it was left, the more damage it was doing. I . was lulled into such a false sense of security, the cancer would . probably still be growing today if I hadn't bumped into a dermatologist . at a Christmas party last December. Basal Cell Carcinomas are the most common form of skin cancer in the UK . BASAL cell carcinomas are the most common form of skin cancer in the UK, with more than 200,000 cases diagnosed every year. They normally look like an open sore, or a red irritated patch, and occur in the top layer of the skin (left). Justine . Hextall, a consultant dermatologist at Western Sussex Hospitals NHS . Trust, says: 'I see patients who have never been abroad - the UK sun is . strong enough to cause  basal cell carcinoma.' Basal cell carcinoma . rarely spreads, unlike malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin . cancer that kills 2,000 Britons each year. However, it can cause . disfigurement. Looking at me, he couldn't hide his concern. 'You really ought to have that spot looked at,' he said. I was dismissive. 'It's driving me nuts but I've been told not to worry about it,' I explained. But . he was so insistent that I booked an appointment with my GP. Just like . at the drop-in centre, she looked at the spot, which by now had a waxy . appearance, and told me not to fret. Even when I explained that the spot . changed appearance regularly, she treated me like a hypochondriac. But . this time I insisted she refer me to my local hospital, Guy's in London. Two weeks later, I went for a skin biopsy. Under local anaesthetic, . a tiny sliver of skin was removed from the spot. The whole procedure . took just ten minutes. As I posed for photos that Christmas with a plaster on my nose, I hoped I had seen the end of the spot and any worry about it. You . can imagine my terror when I received a letter a week after Christmas . telling me that I had cancer. It was the first time anyone had used the . word. I was so shocked, I started crying and shaking. I was booked in to . have the tumour removed two weeks later. Over the phone, a nurse at the . clinic explained the procedure and tried to calm my fears. Basal . cell carcinoma spreads in fewer than 0.5 per cent of cases, and . treatment is successful 90 per  cent of the time. The cause?  Sun . exposure. I went on my first sunshine holiday to Benidorm when I was . 18 and since then have been abroad frequently. I never burned badly, but . my goal was always a tan. But it never occurred to me to use suntan . lotion in Britain. Michelle, pictured after surgery, didn't burn badly on holiday but it never occurred to her to use lotion in Britain . I couldn't rest until the cancer was out. The . operation itself was straightforward. Under local anaesthetic, the . surgeon removed the spot and surrounding tissue. The sample was then . analysed.I was really lucky - all the cancer was gone. But when the . nurse took the dressing off, I burst into tears. I had a centimetre-deep . crater on my nose. The surgeon had to take skin from my cheek to fill . in the hole. She promised it would heal and there would barely be a . scar. But, as I left hospital, dosed up on painkillers, I felt like . Elephant Woman. And when the stitches came out two weeks later, all I . could see was a vicious red scar. The first time I went out socially, I . spent ages putting on heavy concealer. That's when it hit me that there . was no miracle cure. I still looked awful. I sat on the floor of . the bathroom and sobbed: 'What have they done to my face?' But it was a . release. I had to count my blessings. If I hadn't insisted on a biopsy, . the cancer would still be growing - eating away at my entire face. As . the months have passed, the scar has healed. I return for check-ups . every 12 weeks and am rigorous about checking for new marks. My attitude . to the sun has changed completely. I slather myself with factor 50 . every morning - reducing to factor 30 in the winter. I've persuaded . my friends to do the same - looking at my face, they didn't take much . convincing. But I am horrified to see young women dashing into the sun . at the first opportunity. I came so close to destroying my looks for ever - and all because I wanted a tan. Interview: TESSA CUNNINGHAM .
TV star Michelle Dewberry, 34, from Hull, had cancer on her nose .
She enjoyed sunshine holidays from the age of 18 but never burned badly .
It never occurred to her to use suntan lotion in Britain .
After an operation she was left with a centimetre-deep crater on her nose .
The surgeon had to take skin from her cheek to fill it in .
Her scar is faint now but she wears factor 50 - even in the UK .
The . sun was shining as I enjoyed a latte at a pavement cafe recently when I . started frantically rummaging in my handbag. Watching my anxiety, my . colleagues assumed I had mislaid my iPhone or my wallet. But no, . this was far more serious. 'I need my sunscreen,' I explained, trying to . keep the note of panic out of my voice. I could see by the stunned look . on their faces that they found it hard to take  me seriously. I . can't really blame them. After all, tans never really went out of . fashion, despite the health warnings. To most, a tan means confidence . and self-esteem. The usual reaction from friends and colleagues when one . appears, bronzed after a foreign holiday, is to comment on 'how well' you look. Scroll down for video . Michelle in July after her cancer was removed (l) and recently wearing no makeup on her new nose (r) Consequently, most young women can't see the harm in . allowing a few rays of the gentle British summer sunshine to play over . their faces, and give them what they think is a 'healthy' glow. But - as I have discovered - there is no such thing as a healthy tan. And I have the scar on my face to prove it. Earlier . this year, I was treated for basal cell carcinoma. It left me with a . gaping hole on the side of my nose, which had to be reconstructed with . plastic surgery, and there is a possibility the cancer may return. Basal . cell carcinoma is the cancer actor Hugh Jackman was diagnosed with. Left untreated, it would have eaten away and damaged surrounding tissue. So, forgive me if I sound fanatical. My factor 50 sunscreen is just . about the most important thing in my bag. I carry it everywhere and . apply it religiously at least twice a day - more if I am sitting . directly in the sun. I have no doubt that, if I can get cancer, any . woman can. I'm 34 and I didn't go abroad until I was 18. Growing up in a . working-class family in Hull, foreign holidays were beyond us. The only . sunshine I encountered as a child was in England, and I never wore . sunscreen. Michelle pictured before the incident . My brush with cancer did not start with a mole - as most . people imagine - but with an innocent-looking pimple. I first noticed it . on the right side of my nose in spring last year. I haven't had spots . since I was a teenager. Irritated, I blamed my moisturiser and . swapped to another brand. When it still didn't clear up, I decided my . diet was to blame and tried to improve it. The pimple disappeared for a few weeks but then it came back. In desperation I invested in an expensive anti-spot cream. But . still it came and went. Sometimes it was raised, sometimes it was just a . red mark. I know now that this changeability is a classic sign of . cancer. The surgeon had to take skin from the cheek to fill in the hole where the cancer and surrounding tissue was . I'd associated skin cancer purely with moles - I have a few . and keep a close eye on them. And, as I later discovered, the medics I . consulted were just as ignorant. When I finally went to an NHS . walk-in centre near my home in South London, five months after I'd first . noticed the spot, my major concern was my appearance. I was embarrassed . about being so vain.After all, who gets medical help for a spot on . her nose? The nurse who examined me didn't take it seriously either. Telling me not to worry, she prescribed antibiotics to clear up the . 'infection'. So when the spot still didn't clear, it never occurred . to me to return. I didn't realise that the cancer was burrowing its way . into my skin. The longer it was left, the more damage it was doing. I . was lulled into such a false sense of security, the cancer would . probably still be growing today if I hadn't bumped into a dermatologist . at a Christmas party last December. Basal Cell Carcinomas are the most common form of skin cancer in the UK . BASAL cell carcinomas are the most common form of skin cancer in the UK, with more than 200,000 cases diagnosed every year. They normally look like an open sore, or a red irritated patch, and occur in the top layer of the skin (left). Justine . Hextall, a consultant dermatologist at Western Sussex Hospitals NHS . Trust, says: 'I see patients who have never been abroad - the UK sun is . strong enough to cause  basal cell carcinoma.' Basal cell carcinoma . rarely spreads, unlike malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin . cancer that kills 2,000 Britons each year. However, it can cause . disfigurement. Looking at me, he couldn't hide his concern. 'You really ought to have that spot looked at,' he said. I was dismissive. 'It's driving me nuts but I've been told not to worry about it,' I explained. But . he was so insistent that I booked an appointment with my GP. Just like . at the drop-in centre, she looked at the spot, which by now had a waxy . appearance, and told me not to fret. Even when I explained that the spot . changed appearance regularly, she treated me like a hypochondriac. But . this time I insisted she refer me to my local hospital, Guy's in London. Two weeks later, I went for a skin biopsy. Under local anaesthetic, . a tiny sliver of skin was removed from the spot. The whole procedure . took just ten minutes. As I posed for photos that Christmas with a plaster on my nose, I hoped I had seen the end of the spot and any worry about it. You . can imagine my terror when I received a letter a week after Christmas . telling me that I had cancer. It was the first time anyone had used the . word. I was so shocked, I started crying and shaking. I was booked in to . have the tumour removed two weeks later. Over the phone, a nurse at the . clinic explained the procedure and tried to calm my fears. Basal . cell carcinoma spreads in fewer than 0.5 per cent of cases, and . treatment is successful 90 per  cent of the time. The cause? Sun . exposure. I went on my first sunshine holiday to Benidorm when I was . 18 and since then have been abroad frequently. I never burned badly, but . my goal was always a tan. But it never occurred to me to use suntan . lotion in Britain. Michelle, pictured after surgery, didn't burn badly on holiday but it never occurred to her to use lotion in Britain . I couldn't rest until the cancer was out. The . operation itself was straightforward. Under local anaesthetic, the . surgeon removed the spot and surrounding tissue. The sample was then . analysed.I was really lucky - all the cancer was gone. But when the . nurse took the dressing off, I burst into tears. I had a centimetre-deep . crater on my nose. The surgeon had to take skin from my cheek to fill . in the hole. She promised it would heal and there would barely be a . scar. But, as I left hospital, dosed up on painkillers, I felt like . Elephant Woman. And when the stitches came out two weeks later, all I . could see was a vicious red scar. The first time I went out socially, I . spent ages putting on heavy concealer. That's when it hit me that there . was no miracle cure. I still looked awful. I sat on the floor of . the bathroom and sobbed: 'What have they done to my face?' But it was a . release. I had to count my blessings. If I hadn't insisted on a biopsy, . the cancer would still be growing - eating away at my entire face. As . the months have passed, the scar has healed. I return for check-ups . every 12 weeks and am rigorous about checking for new marks. My attitude . to the sun has changed completely. I slather myself with factor 50 . every morning - reducing to factor 30 in the winter. I've persuaded . my friends to do the same - looking at my face, they didn't take much . convincing. But I am horrified to see young women dashing into the sun . at the first opportunity. I came so close to destroying my looks for ever - and all because I wanted a tan. Interview: TESSA CUNNINGHAM .
take skin from the cheek to fill in the hole Christmas . telling me that I had cancer. It was never occurred to me to use suntan . lotion in burn badly on holiday but it never occurred to her to use lotion in Britain . I couldn't rest tears. I had a centimetre-deep . crater on my nose. The surgeon had to take skin from my cheek with factor 50 . every morning - reducing to