Hull-born businesswoman Michelle Dewberry, who shot to fame when she won The Apprentice TV show in 2006, tells Joanna Hunter about her battle with skin cancer, meeting a man via online dating, and signing up to freeze her eggs for when the time is right to have children.
For six long months, Michelle Dewberry lived with skin cancer on her face after doctors failed to recognise that what looked like a harmless spot was something more sinister.
The 35-year-old, who shot to fame in 2006 when she won The Apprentice TV show, was only diagnosed with a malignant tumour after she went back a third time.
She had been reassured it was nothing to worry about, but after meeting a dermatologist who urged her to go back again, Michelle finally learnt the truth.
Never in her wildest dreams did the business- woman believe she could have skin cancer – she was young and barely went abroad.
However, Michelle was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, which accounts for about 75 per cent of skin cancers.
Now, as winter approaches and people turn to sun beds to keep that "healthy tan", Michelle is urging people to be sun safe.
"I don't understand these girls who go on the sun beds," she said.
"When I was younger, I might have gone on once before I went on holiday, but now, I would not go on one if you paid me.
"I have no doubt that, if I can get cancer, any woman can.
"I didn't go abroad until I was 18.
"Growing up in a working- class family in Hull, foreign holidays were beyond us. We used to go to Butlins.
"The only sunshine I encountered as a child was in England and I never wore sunscreen."
Michelle, who appears as a weekly pundit on Sky News said she feared she would die when she first saw the word "cancer".
She said: "I just got this letter through the post saying I had cancer and a leaflet on dealing with cancer.
"I was scared, I didn't know it was treatable, you see the word cancer and you fear the worst."
Thankfully, the operation to remove the tumour was straightforward. Under local anaesthetic, the surgeon removed the spot and surrounding tissue.
The sample was then analysed and, luckily, all the cancer was gone.
Following the operation, Michelle needed 12 stitches and has since had reconstructive surgery to pull the skin from her cheek over to cover the hole left on her nose, leaving her with a faint scar.
Now, she never goes out without sun cream on, even in the winter, and urges everyone to check their skin.
Her brush with cancer did not start with a mole – as most people imagine – but with an innocent-looking pimple.
"The big point I have tried to make is that everyone talks about moles relating to cancer, but mine wasn't a mole, it was a pimple," she said.
"You've just got to be vigilant.
"Even though I've been given the all-clear now, I don't risk it. I wear factor 50 every day, even in winter.
"It's now part of my routine to check my skin and if I found anything again, I'd not hesitate to go and get it checked out."
As well as regularly appearing on Sky News alongside host Eamonn Holmes, Michelle works with the Sun newspaper on their unemployment roadshow, runs two businesses and is about to launch a new business in the new year.
Next year, she will also film a documentary about egg-freezing and undergo the process herself.
Egg-freezing is becoming increasingly interesting to a number of women, who may not be in a secure relation- ship and choose to put a few eggs in storage for when, and if, the right man comes along.
Fertility is scientifically proven to be age dependent and since it is the age of a woman's eggs that determines her fertility, the eggs of a 30-year-old woman are much more likely to lead to successful conception than those of a 40-year-old.
It's even being offered by companies such as Facebook and Apple as a "perk" for female employees.
Michelle said: "I think it's a good idea. It's like having an insurance policy.
"I'm very interested in the subject – it needs to be talked about because these options are available to women.
"It's hard to meet the right person, so egg-freezing gives you the option to have children later on.
"I'm a very strong family girl, I've just not met the right person to have children with yet."
But Michelle did admit she had very recently started a new relationship with a businessman and although she was coy about giving away any more details, she did say she had met her new partner online.
She said: "I'm in a relationship. It is very new, we met online.
"I'm always out meeting new people, but I think it's a good idea to maximise your chances.
"I don't have a problem with online dating, everyone is doing it.
"It's getting harder and harder to meet people, but I'm like anyone else, everyone wants to meet someone. I want to be in love and I want to be loved."
She said when the time does come for her to have children, she would want to move back to Hull.
She said: "Hull is my home, but I live in London.
"All my family are in Hull. I still have a house in Hull. When I have a family, I'll move back to Hull, Hull is where my heart is.
"I love Hull and I'm very proud Hull got City of Culture, it's an amazing accolade."
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