Press Release 18 July 2016
Skcin
Welcome Kylie Pentelow as Charity Patron
Skcin are delighted to announce the
appointment of ITV’s Kylie Pentelow as a Patron of the charity as she embarks
on her mission to help Skcin raise awareness following the death of her beloved
father last year to a rare form of skin cancer.
Kylie, whose first job in journalism was
as a reporter with The Bath Chronicle and who has also worked for the BBC, is now the co-anchor for ITV News West Country
and presents the ITV national news at the weekend.
Today (Monday 18th July) her first
programme in a series of documentaries called ‘Under The Skin’ will be aired as
part of ITV News West Country on ITV at 6pm.
This forms part of her commitment to raising awareness of skin cancer as
she makes a stand against the disease.
In August 2013
Kylie’s father David Pentelow discovered a tiny lump on his lower left arm.
Doctors removed the lump and it was sent off to be analysed, within weeks his
was told the lump was cancerous.By December Kylie’s
family were told the heart-breaking news that the lump was a very rare and
aggressive form of skin cancer called Merkel Cell Carcinoma.A precautionary
scan some months later revealed it had spread to his lymph glands.
Despite David’s
huge positivity throughout his journey, the following 10 months were hard. Swelling,
infection, a considerable amount of pain and two types of chemotherapy took
it’s toll on David and his family who watched as this proud man and devoted
father and husband came to terms with the devastating news that there was
nothing more that could be done.When treatment
ended, he died just six weeks later aged 68 - two days after Kylie’s birthday,
one day after her mum's birthday - his beloved wife of 48 years, Marion.
Kylie said “My dad was my best friend, and
I spoke to him every day. He knew everything about my life. The hardest thing
was when he was too poorly to speak on the phone. I knew how much I’d miss him
before he died. People say about relatives that ‘they miss them every day.’ I
miss my dad every hour”.
Now 37-year-old Kylie has become patron of
a national skin cancer awareness charity Skcin and is presenting a new series
on the condition for ITV, starting Monday 18th July. The series she
has made has involved harrowing conversations with other people facing the
final stages of cancer treatment.
“ People have said it must be awful to be
doing all this, but I had no choice. I am in a lucky position as a journalist
and if one person watches my series and thinks ‘I will be careful’ and protects
themselves or their children, then that would be amazing.”
Kylie, who has two brothers and a sister,
was particularly struck by one statistic: if you get sunburnt as a child, you
are 80 per cent more likely to develop skin cancer.
She now wants to go into schools as patron
of Skcin to encourage schools to register with the charity’s ‘Sun Safe Schools’
national accreditation scheme and spread the safety message.
“I'm so delighted
to be working with Skcin. The charities approach - particularly with the
education of children and young people - is key to fighting skin cancer.
When my father died
a year ago, I knew I wanted to do something to spread the word of how
horrid skin cancer is. So many people in this country are suffering now, and
now is the time we need to make a difference. All I can hope for
is that one person reads this or hears of the great work of Skcin and starts
using sunscreen, or stops using sunbeds."
Kathryn Clifford from the charity was
delighted to welcome Kylie as a patron.
“Losing a loved one to cancer is an
incredibly painful journey and for some it sparks a genuine desire to make a
stand against this devastating disease and prevent others from the same
suffering.
Kylie is in a unique position - her
journalistic skills and national recognition can really help drive awareness
and Skcin are proud to be working with such a dynamic and driven individual who
shares our objectives. Her father would of course, be hugely proud of her
bravery, effort and passion.”
Kylie’s work has
spanned all areas of journalism – from breaking news to celebrity
interviews, from studio presenting to live broadcasts. Skcin look forward to
working with Kylie to raise awareness, promote the prevention and early
detection of skin cancer and help reverse the soaring statistics of this
devastating disease.
“It’s very hard to link something like
sunbathing which we associate with feeling positive with this terrible illness”
says Kylie. “I don’t want people to feel sorry for me, but I hope that if they
know why I’m saying these things, I might be able to make a difference.”
You can see more, including a video about
Kylie's father at itv.com/westcountry.
