Skcin - The Karen Clifford Skcin Cancer Charity Latest News

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 18^th 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 18^th 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.