Ex-England footballer Paul Merson talks about surviving skin cancer and urges others: ‘Go and get it checked’
The pundit hopes to raise awareness of the dangers of sun exposure and highlights the importance of wearing sunscreen. By Katie Wright.
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Your support makes all the difference.While the 2022 World Cup may be taking place during UK winter, fans travelling to Qatar will have to contend with high temperatures and lots of sunshine, meaning sunscreen is a must.
Having survived skin cancer, former England footballer Paul Merson never skips sunblock nowadays, but that wasn’t the case when he was still playing professionally.
“I would never put cream on,” says Merson, who played for Arsenal for 11 years and earned 21 caps for England in the 90s.
“I was a sun worshipper – I’m not going to lie. We have this thing of like, you get suntanned, you just feel better about yourself, and I was one of those people.”
In 2012, after putting off a visit to the doctor for months, Merson got a mole on his back tested and two days later received the devastating news.
“My doctor said, ‘You’ve got melanoma, you need to come in ASAP’. I just burst into tears. I went in the next day or the day after and I had it cut out. I had 50 stitches in my back.”
Fortunately, the cancer hadn’t spread, Merson recalls: “They were waiting to see if I would have to take tablets or have chemo. They said, ‘Another two or three months, we wouldn’t have been able to do anything’. And that was just through pure laziness, if I’m being honest.”
That’s why the 54-year-old is now working with Melanoma UK (melanomauk.org.uk) to highlight rising cancer rates and the importance of wearing sunscreen, whether you’re at home or away.
According to the charity, people attending this year’s World Cup are three times more likely to get skin cancer than those attending the 1994 and 1998 tournaments.
Sports star Merson spoke about his skin cancer journey, his struggle with addiction and what he hopes to achieve with this campaign.
What did you learn from the Melanoma UK research?
“What shocked me more than anything is that twice as many men get skin cancer as women. It shocked me, but I can understand why, because lot of the make-up that ladies put on [contains SPF].
“And women know that if they sunbathe too much they look older. Vogue has been saying that for the last 20, 25 years in their magazine.”
What do you wish you’d known about cancer before you were diagnosed?
“The one thing I would say is, when I went to see the specialist and they talked to me about it, I was on my own. I remember coming out, I was on the phone to my mum, she said, ‘What did they say?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know. I’ve got cancer. I’ve got melanoma’.
“That’s so important, to go with someone. When you hear that word it’s very hard not to lose concentration and think of all the bad things.
“Looking back now, I think I was quite blase, and it’s probably because of the stage I was at in my life. My addictions were pretty heavy at the time, my gambling and my drinking. I was in a dark place.”
Have you got any advice for applying sunscreen?
“I think we just look at the weather and we go, ‘Oh, it’s [sunny] out today, so we better put the cream on’. The UV rays come through all the time, even on cloudy days, so that’s important.
“No one ever gets to work and goes, ‘Oh, I forgot to brush my teeth’. You just do it. I think with men that’s what we’ve got to do, start to get into that situation where it becomes normal just to put on cream in the morning.
“You can avoid [skin cancer] if you look after yourself. There’s other cancers out there that we just can’t do anything about. This we can do something about, as an individual.”
What are some of the signs to look out for in terms of moles?
“[Look out for] very changing moles – getting bigger, getting rougher, they start bleeding. With mine, you could see it – it really changed. I just kept on thinking, ‘Oh, it’ll be all right’.
“I have lots of people come up to me now and say, ‘What do you think of this mole?’ and I go, ‘Well, it looks really good, right?’ like mine was, but you don’t want to get to how far mine was. You want to nip it in the bud early doors.”
What would you say to anyone who’s been putting off going to the doctor to get a mole checked?
“Go and get it checked. To put it in perspective, you know, I’ve been lucky enough so far to see another nine Christmases, when I might not have, and it’s through laziness.
“I know how life takes over people, we’re so busy… I’m not being judgmental here. I know what life’s like. It is about finding the time, but we find time to do other things, whereas sometimes going to the doctor is not [a priority].”
To find out more about the work of Lifejacket and Melanoma UK, and how you can protect your skin with Fan Paint while supporting your team, visit lifejacketskin.com/fanpaint