ITV This Morning star opens up on cancer diagnosis urging fans to get checked

This Morning star Lynsey Crombie has opened up on a tragic skin cancer diagnosis in 2022 served as a stark reminder of her mortality.

Best known as the Queen of Clean on the ITV morning show described her diagnosis as a 'real wake up call' after she detected a change in a mole on her knee that raised concerns.

"I just kept looking at my knee and thinking to myself, my mole looks different from what it did last year", revealed Lynsey exclusively to OK! Magazine.

Despite her GP initially telling her not to worry, Lynsey had a gut feeling and took the situation into her own hands.

Lynsey - who resides in Peterborough with her husband Rob and their kids Jake, Molly, and Olivia - sought a second opinion from a private mole clinic and from there, she got an "urgent referral".

She attempted to revisit her doctors but was told of a considerable 14-month waiting time.

Despite jetting away abroad, she described nagging thoughts about her mole and eventually returned to the private clinic where two of her moles were removed, on the doctor's suggestion.

Two weeks later while working in the USA, Lynsey received the dreaded news of having invasive melanoma.

Reflecting on the gut-wrenching moment she was diagnosed, Lynsey said: "I put the phone down on the doctor, I was in shock. When you hear the word cancer, I literally fell to the floor - I didn't even give the doctor time to explain the type of cancer or how bad it was".

Her husband, who works in healthcare, had to call the doctor back for her.

Lynsey also noted: "It wasn't the mole I was concerned about, it was the one that had been there for years - I would never have gone about that other one, I didn't see it as a problem."

The 45-year-old underwent a wide local excision around the mole on her knee to remove any potential remaining cancer cells.

"I'm so active, I go to the gym and I walk a lot, but I was crawling around the house for six weeks, it was very frustrating and a constant reminder", Lynsey shared about her recovery.

Fortunately for the mum, she didn't need further treatment and now has regular skin checks through the NHS.

Less than a year after her diagnosis, Lynsey discussed how her life has been profoundly affected.

"Every four months for the next five years I have a skin check, I want to get to the five years, but I don't want to wish my life away - I know that life is so precious and it's a real wake up call", she said.

"For me, I'm still getting those constant reminders because my body has little cuts and bits on it, so it's still in my head."

Speaking on how her mental health has been impacted, Lynsey said she now looks after herself, but is finding it hard to 'love herself', admitting that: "I'm just not right."

Following her cancer diagnosis, the star has now made it her mission to spread awareness.

The This Morning star has encouraged fans to get their skin checked every six months.

"Do a skin check, take photographs, and check yourself, because you don't know when they're going to appear - use sun cream and stay away from sunbeds. Or they could create some more warning signs in sunbed stores to make people more aware."

For more information or support about cancer, you can contact Macmillan Cancer Support.

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