Pregnant 'tanorexic' is diagnosed with skin cancer

A self confessed tanorexic who refused to ditch her five sunbed-a-week habit when nine months pregnant was later diagnosed with skin cancer.
Jo Irving, from Blackpool in Lancashire, started using sunbeds when she was just 14 years old.
But the 32-year-old said she will never step foot in a tanning salon again, after hearing the devastating diagnosis from doctors last April
The mother-of-one first noticed a 'pearly white boil' on the left side of her nose four years ago.
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Self-confessed tanorexic Jo Irving, left when tanned and right now, was diagnosed with skin cancer in April 2012, after refusing to ditch her sunbed addiction when she was nine months pregnant. After surgery and treatment, she has now vowed to never step in a tanning salon again

While at an antenatal appointment Ms Irving mentioned the blemish to medics, having noticed it wouldn't heal.
She was shocked when tests revealed the mark was a basal cell carcinoma - a type of skin cancer,
After surgery to remove the disease, the flight attendant was left with a gaping hole in her face.
She had the spot, a 'rodent ulcer', removed, along with the tissue around it and a skin graft using skin from behind her ear to repair the damage.
Now, after spending more than half her life using sunbeds, Ms Irving, who was addicted to being brown, said she will never go near one again.

She said: 'I first noticed the lump four years ago.
'It was a small boil under the skin with a pearly white head on the top.
'It didn’t bother me in the slightest at first. I didn’t think much of it.
'The only time I thought about it was in the morning when I looked in the mirror to put my make-up on and then my make-up would cover it.
'I thought it would go over time but my boyfriend, Bobby, started mentioning it quite a lot to me and would tell me to go and get it checked out.'
Even when the lump started bleeding Jo says she still didn’t feel the need for any concern.
She said she first mentioned it to a doctor when she went for her post-natal check-up with her son Ryley, now two, in August 2012.

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The 32-year-old first noticed a 'pearly white boil' on the left side of her nose four years ago. It was only in April 2012 that the expectant mother raised the blemish with doctors at an anti-natal check up. Tests revealed it was basal cell carcinoma - a form of skin cancer

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The small blemish was removed by surgeons, who then used skin from her ear to create a graft over the hole left. She said: 'The skin graft didn't take, and I was left with a hole in my face, which took over five weeks to heal,' right.

WHAT IS A 'RODENT ULCER'?

There are two main types of skin cancer, melanoma and non-melanoma.
A basal skin carcinoma is a non-melanoma skin cancer, and is the most common form of the disease.
It accounts for 80 per cent of all cases in the UK.
The cancer is often refered to as 'rodent ulcers'.
The commonest cause of a basal cell carcinoma is too much exposure to UV light from the sun or sunbeds.
They can occur anywhere on the body, but are most common in areas exposed to the sun, including your face, head, neck and ears.
BCC mainly affect fair-skinned adults and are more common in men than women.
Those at highest risk are:

• people with freckles or pale skin and blond or red hair
• those who've had a lot of exposure to the sun
• people with outdoor hobbies or those who work outdoors
• people who use sunbeds
• people who have previously had BCC

Most are painless, and often first appear as a scab that bleeds and does not fully heal.
Some BCCs are very superficial and look like a scaly red flat mark, others have a pearl-like rim surrounding a central crater. 
If left for years, the latter, can erode the skin causing an ulcer.
BCCs can be cured in almost every case. 
Source: British Skin Foundation

'The doctor told me to just see how it goes, but if I see any changes in it and it keeps bothering me, I should go back,' she said.
'His reaction to it didn’t give me much cause for concern.
'I thought I was making something of nothing.
'It wasn’t until March the next year that I went for an appointment.'
Ms Irving said to become concerned when she was sent to Clifton Hospital in Lancashire, in April 2012, for an appointment with a specialist.
She said: 'When I got in to see the doctor, he looked at it straight away and called it a ‘rodent ulcer.’

'He said, "I don’t know what your relationship with the sunbeds is but I suggest you never use one again".
'I had two plastic surgeons working on me at Royal Preston Hospital - one working on my face and the other taking skin from behind my ear.
'Under the local anaesthetic, I could just feel the tugging and pulling, which is a horrible feeling.
'I could smell the burning of my flesh and because it was behind my ear, I could hear every little thing.
'The skin graft didn’t take, and I was left with a hole in my face, which took over five weeks to heal.
'And my ear was swollen from having the skin removed, and so painful I couldn’t bear for it to be touched.'
Ms Irving started using sunbeds when she was fourteen, at one point averaging five times a week.
She is now left with a small white scar, the only indication of her ordeal.
'I was addicted to being brown,' she said. 'I wouldn’t go on a night out unless I’d had a sunbed.

RELATED: 'Tanorexic' mum visits tanning salon 5 days a week

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Ms Irving continued to use sunbeds when she was pregnant with baby Ryley, pictured left. She is now urging others to think before using sunbeds, adding: 'I decided to look at it in a positive way. It's a wake up call. It means I haven't used a sunbed since and I never will again'

'If I went on holiday and didn’t come back with a tan, I would be disappointed about the whole holiday.
'I even went on when I was pregnant with Ryley, for the full nine months.'
Ms Irving said now the ulcer has been removed, the cancer is gone.
But she said doctors have warned there is no reason why it won't return.
She said: 'Luckily, it was the least harmful form of skin cancer, basal cell skin carcinoma.
'I decided to look at it in a positive way. It’s a wake-up call. It means I haven't used a sunbed since and I never will again.

'It’s a wake-up call. It means I haven't used a sunbed since and I never will again...  I thought it would never happen to me. But it did'
- Jo Irving

'I always use a factor 30 or 50 when I’m out in the sun now. I used to use a factor 15 on my face so it didn’t go red, but on my body I’d start with a factor two, and a few days later I’d move to an oil.
'Now, I look back at pictures of myself when I went on the sunbeds all the time, and I looked ridiculous.
'All my friends used to joke and say I had ‘tanorexia’ because I could never see my true colour.
'I just thought they were jealous of my tan.'
Ms Irving, who is engaged to her partner Bobby Jones, added: 'I hope sharing my story helps others.
'I want to get the message out about sunbeds. And to make people aware its not just moles they should check.
'They should look for other changes in their skin too. When I think about how often I went on sunbeds since my teens, I feel embarrassed.
'I see people coming out of sunbed salons and I feel sick. People don’t realise the damage they are doing.
'I suppose I thought it would never happen to me. But it did.'

'It was like something out of a Western'

Five members of a family have been arrested after relatives turned on each other in a 20-person brawl described as like 'something out of a Western'.

The 'punch-up' broke out in Luton town centre happened in broad daylight and led to the police being called in. 

The 20 people - including a 13-year-old - were seen hitting and kicking each other with several left lying injured on the pavement. 

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Family feud: Five relatives have been arrested after a mass brawl in the street in Luton

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Scary: Horrified shoppers said the fight was like 'something from a western' and called in the police

Several female family members screamed at each other and then tried to break up the street brawl.

A terrified shopper who saw the fight unfold said: 'All hell broke loose. It was like something out of a Western.

 

'Everyone was punching and kicking each other, women kicking and screaming at one another. I've never seen anything like it.'

The family members involved in the feud have not been named and police would only say that five people had been arrested on suspicion of assault during a 'domestic incident'.

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Investigation: Bedfordshire Police say that four men and a teenager have been bailed over 'domestic incident'

Paramedics treated a number of people at the scene for minor injuries.

Bedfordshire Police said four men and a teenager had been arrested.

They are aged between 13 and 52, and are on police bail until October.

Mother got away with letting her children live in filth

This is the squalid home where malnourished children infested with headlice lived in squalor because their parents were able to 'play the authorities off against one another'. 

Teachers, doctors, health professionals and social workers in Gloucestershire were all aware of the family but no formal action was taken until one of the children was admitted to hospital with severe nappy rash.

Now a serious case review has found there were five 'missed opportunities' by the authorities to intervene with the family earlier because neglect was not treated as seriously as other forms of abuse.

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Squalor: Police have released this picture where malnourished children lived in squalor and surrounded by animal waste because their parents were able to play the authorities off one another

The family had been known to authorities for 16 years with teachers, doctors, health professionals and social workers all in contact with them.

During that time there were numerous visits to GPs and complaints from teachers and health workers to social services about the state of the children, who like their parents can not be named for legal reasons.

They were found to be suffering with tooth decay, head lice, poor growth and weight gain, delayed development, anaemia, poor hygiene and severe nappy rash.

Concerns were also raised over missed health appointments, failures to immunise the children, failures to use prescribed medication, poor school attendance and non-compliance with health professionals.

The review, which was commissioned by the county’s safeguarding children board, said there were 127 recorded contacts made between the family and primary health care professionals over a 27-month period.

Over the years there were numerous notes made about the condition of their home - with it being dirty, untidy and smelling of faeces.

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Danger: An open plug socket that was hanging from the wall of a house of the couple who were jailed for neglecting five of their children

David Cameron launches the troubled families programme

The review found there was ongoing evidence that the parents often turned away health professionals from their home and the mother prioritised her own needs over the children.

Even the children’s grandmother admitted her daughter was 'manipulative and aggressive' and very controlling. GPs noted she was 'skilled at playing off one agency against the other'.

The serious case review said the parents successfully avoided health and medical professionals, meaning the children were subjected to further neglect and harm.

'One of the most concerning issues in this case is the apparent lack of understanding, at the time, of neglect and its impact by a number of the key professionals working with this family,' the report said.

'All of the signs were there, and had been for many years, that these children were suffering or likely to suffer significant harm due to neglect.

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Overgrown: Ivy creeps into one of the bedrooms of the house. A serious case review has found there were five 'missed opportunities' by the authorities to intervene with the family earlier

'At the time there were clear difficulties in ensuring that all of the information on all of the children was available to be considered and drawn together in order to ensure a complete picture.

'A child protection conference would have allowed all the professionals involved to share the history of the family and the current concerns in a setting chaired by an independent person, where the parents could not have decided who was involved and who was not.'

A police investigation was launched after one child was admitted to hospital in November last year with severe nappy rash.

The children’s parents were jailed at Gloucester Crown Court after neglecting five of their children between 2007 and 2012. They had admitted five counts of neglect of the children.

The mother was jailed for two years and nine months, while her husband received a two-year prison term.

The children were removed from the parents prior to their sentences being imposed, with some placed with foster carers and others with family members.

The serious case review made a series of recommendations to the authorities in the county.

David McCallum, chair of Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Board, said the authorities involved had underestimated the impact of long-term neglect.

'There was really long-term, chronic and serious neglect,' he said.

'For most of the time when children’s social care and other agencies were working with this family, they treated the neglect as a "child in need" issue and that probably underestimated the extent of the harm those children were suffering.

'One of the real points of learning for all the organisations involved is that neglect can be really, really harmful to children, especially when it’s long-term.'

Mr McCallum said this type of case could happen again 'because neglect is a really challenging area of work', and cited the death of Victoria Climbie, who was tortured and murdered by her guardians in 2000.

'Another factor present in this case, to be frank, the parents were concealing the neglect the children were suffering,' he said.

'I have worked in safeguarding for many years and if you go back to Victoria Climbie and before that, these are some of the most difficult issues all the time and we need that constant, relentless focus on, if we are going to avoid this happening in the future.'

Robin Williams was addicted to 'tooth-rotting sentimentality'

Veteran critic Barry Norman has sparked anger among film fans after claiming Robin Williams starred in a 'plenitude' of bad movies and was addicted to 'saccharine, tooth-rotting sentimentality'.

In a column for the Radio Times, Norman said the much-loved late actor's talent 'could sometimes be spread so thinly as to be almost invisible'.

The 80-year-old writer, who presented the BBC's Film programme until Jonathan Ross replaced him in 1998, also said the Oscar-winner's legacy as a film actor would suffer.

But fans of the star responded by saying Norman's comments were 'mean-spirited' and 'unsympathetic'.

On Twitter, Mike Griffin said: 'Barry Norman, for what must be the millionth time, is wrong. Again.'

Piano teacher Chris said: 'I think that's views on Robin are mean-spirited. I know who I'd rather watch.' 

Williams, who died last week, won the best supporting actor Oscar for the 1997 film Good Will Hunting and was nominated three further times.

He is best known for his roles in Mrs Doubtfire, Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society The Fisher Kings, One Hour Photo and the TV comedy series Mork & Mindy.

In his column, described as an 'honest tribute', Norman wrote: 'It's hard to know what to make of Robin Williams.

'Admiration is called for, but also sadness, not just for his tragic death but for an enormous talent which, if not exactly unfulfilled, could sometimes be spread so thinly as to be almost invisible.

'Every actor makes bad films occasionally but what was remarkable about Williams was not that he was so good in the good ones but that he was so very bad in the bad ones.

 

'He made no secret of his addiction to drugs and alcohol but there was another addiction, which he never admitted but which became increasingly evident in his own work – to saccharine, tooth-rotting sentimentality.

'Were the bad films made when drink or drugs played their part? You might also ask, what caused a man of such gifts to rely so heavily on drink and drugs?'

Archive: A montage of Robin Williams' best movies

Norman said Williams's role as the nanny in Mrs Doubtfire was 'uproarious Williams', but not his role as the father

'An enormous talent': Robin Williams in the 1987 film Good Morning Vietnam

Norman's comments are in his column published in this month's edition of the Radio Times

Speaking about one of the actor's best-loved roles in Mrs Doubtfire, Norman said. 'The nanny is good, uproarious Williams; the father, all tearful sentimentality, is the bad one.' 

On the 1998 film What Dreams May Come, Norman said: 'It was unrelentingly weepy and he was so cringe-inducing that if it were the only Williams film you ever saw, you would say, with confidence, that he would never make an actor.'

Williams was found dead in his home at the age of 63 and is survived by his three children and third wife Susan.

Flowers and tributes placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame star for late actor Robin Williams in Hollywood, California

Police said he died of asphyxia due to hanging.

His wife later said her husband had been sober but "not yet ready to share publicly" his struggles with Parkinson's.

She added that he had also been suffering from anxiety and depression.

He added: 'I only met Williams once and then briefly at some film function. He was warm, charming, and funny, and I think everyone found him so.

'Certainly I never heard anyone badmouth him. If we forgive the bad films he is a great loss, because, given the right vehicle, he still had so much to offer.'

The boy with the TWO STONE hands that are bigger than his head

An eight-year-old boy has left doctors baffled after his hands swelled to giant proportions and now weigh more than two stone.

Young Kaleem, from India, is unable to carry out simple tasks, including tying his own shoe laces, after he was born with hands twice the size of an average baby.

His mother Haleema, 27, said she knew he was different at birth but was powerless to help and the youngster's hands have now grown so large they measure 13 inches from the base of his palm to the end of his middle finger.

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Kaleem, from India, was born with hands twice the size of an average baby and they have continued to grow

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His hands now measure 13 inches from the base of his palm to the tip of his middle finger and weigh two stone

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The eight-year-old claims he is bullied because of his giant hands and has difficulty performing simple tasks

The cricket fan said he has been bullied and shunned most of his life because others are 'scared' of his deformity.

He said: 'I do not go to school because the teacher says other kids are scared of my hands.

'Many of them used to bully me for my deformity. They would say "let's beat up the kid with the large hands".

'Some of them have actually beaten me and would go after me often.

 

'I find it difficult to put on my clothes, button my shirt and pull up my pants.

'But I don't know if I want doctors to operate on my hands. They would have to make me unconscious and then they would cut me open.

'I have no problem if they could do it without an injection. A small operation would be okay.'

His parents, who earn just £15 a month, have been desperately trying to find help for their son - but to no avail. 

Young Indian boy's gigantic 8kg hands are baffling doctors

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His mother Haleema, 27, (pictured with Kaleem and another one of her children) said she feels 'powerless'

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Kaleem, a keen cricketer, said the teachers at his school have told him other children are 'scared' of his hands

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He has found it difficulty to play cricket and hold a bat due to his condition but tries to still join in with his friends

His mother, who has other children who do not suffer from the same condition, said: 'When Kaleem was born his hand was twice the size of a normal baby's.

'His hands were big and his fingers were long. Initially his fists were small but they began to grow large as well and his fingers also kept growing.'

His father, Shamim, 45, who works as a labourer, is worried his son will never be independent and blames himself for not earning enough money.

'He has difficulty feeding himself because his fist does not bend properly - so we have to feed him,' he said.

'Using two fingers he is able to pick up some things like a glass of water to drink.

'We want to take him to the hospital but there have been times when money has been so low that my wife has been forced to go begging.

'In that kind of financial situation, getting treatment for Kaleem was difficult.

'Even when I tried to get Kaleem into the school, the headmaster told me to put in writing that the school would not be responsible if the other children were afraid of his hands or bullied him or laughed at him.'

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Doctors in India have been left baffled by his growing hands and many are at a loss as to what the condition is

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The youngster has difficulty eating, tying his shoelaces and carrying out other basic tasks due to his hands

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Kaleem's father Shamim, 45, (pictured together above) is worried his son will never become independent

The couple have only just been able to take their son to a local doctor for an assessment but their hopes of an instant cure have been dashed.

Dr Ratan, the director of the local hospital, said: 'As far as my knowledge goes, this is an extremely rare condition.

'I have not seen a case in medical journals or on the internet where only the hands grew to such a large size.

'Until we have done proper genetic testing we will not be able to say exactly what is causing this deformity.'

He said that apart from the unsightly growths, Kaleem is in good health - with properly functioning lungs and heart.

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Doctors have assessed Kaleem and have described his hands as a 'rare condition'. He is otherwise healthy

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Kaleem was born with larger-than-average hands but they have continued to grow throughout his childhood

But as his hands continue to grow it may put increased pressure on his cardiovascular system, potentially shortening his life.

Elsewhere, Dr Krishan Chugh, head of paediatrics at the state-of-the-art Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurgaon, near Delhi, has also been left baffled after reviewing photographs and videos of the boy's hands.

However, he believes Kaleem may be suffering from either lymphangioma or hamartoma - which are both treatable.

He added: 'This condition looks very rare and I have come across something like this before. Without proper examination and medical tests I am not 100 per cent sure about what this is.'

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Kaleem's parents are now hoping to raise money for their son in the hope that his condition can be treated

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One doctor said he believes the Kaleem may be suffering from either lymphangioma - a condition of the lymphatic system causing extreme inflamation - or hamartoma - a benign tumour - both of which are treatable

Lymphangioma is a condition of the lymphatic system which causes extreme inflammation resulting in doughy masses forming in certain parts of the body.

Hamartoma is a benign type of tumour where the body produces excess tissue.

After hearing from the doctors, Kaleem's parents now have renewed optimism that something can be done for their son and are doubling their efforts to raise money for him.

'We have tried several places with no solutions so far,' said Shamim.

'But I have a feeling there is a way to get the resources to give my son a normal life.'

Words British accented murderer James Foley

The FIRST World War in colour: Photos taken using pioneering technology

Black-and-white photographs from the First World War are not hard to come by, but far less familiar are the colour images from the time.

‘The First World War in Colour’ contains more than 320 colour photos brought together from archives in Europe, the United States and Australia.

They were taken by a small band of photographers at the time who were pioneering autochrome technology when the war began.

The process of taking colour photos back in 1914 required quite a long exposure time, so almost every picture shows carefully composed scenes of soldiers preparing for battle, day-to-day life in the trenches and the devastating consequences on the front line.

Their remarkable fully-hued pictures have now been published in time for the centenary, bringing a human reality to the ‘war to end war’.

The volume by author Peter Walther includes some of the most important developments of the war including the mobilisation of 1914 to the victory celebrations in Paris, London and New York in 1919.

It was possible to take colour photos as early as the 19th century and the autochrome technique was introduced in 1907 before even new technology in the 1930s made colour photography more mainstream.

More than nine million soldiers and seven million civilians were killed in the First World War, which started on July 28, 1914 and ended on November 11, 1918.

Hundreds of events are taking place throughout this year to mark 100 years since the war began.

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Autochrome technology was in its early days throughout the First World War but a small group of photographers were pioneering its usage and there pictures are now being republished in a new book. Troops are pictured here in blue jackets and helmets watching the sky intently for missiles

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French airship Alsace is pictured when it was shot down on October 3, 1915 near Rethel (left) and also a German canteen (right) in one of the trenches

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The First World War was the first time air warfare had played a role in combat and this picture of French warplane, Caudron G3, was captured by a photographer in 1914

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Pictures like this one of a British tank in Péronne near Amiens feature in the book which has been published to mark the centenary of the outbreak of war in 1914

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The volume includes some of the most important developments of the war including the mobilisation of 1914 to the victory celebrations in Paris, London and New York in 1919. This picture shows a British ambulance in 1914 with its famous red crosses

This fully-hued picture shows the victory celebrations at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on July 14, 1919 after the war ended on November 11, 1918

 Front cover of The First World War in Colour, which includes 320 remarkable rare photos in original full-hue brought together from archives in Europe, the United States and Australia. This touching image shows troops enjoying some downtime intently playing cards in their camp

Walther has edited a series of other publications on literary, photographic and contemporary themes and has also illustrated books with historical colour photographs and has collated for exhibitions. Pictured here are piles shells and ammunition stacked ready to use

The book includes work by Paul Castelnau, Fernand Cuville, Jules Gervais-Courtellemont, Léon Gimpel, Hans Hildenbrand and Charles C. Zoller - pictured is the view across the Meuse of the devastated Verdun which is reflected in the water

Portraits show carefully composed scenes of soldiers preparing for battle, day-to-day life in the trenches and the devastating consequences on the front line, such as these soldiers in a concrete trench