Lytham man to climb Kilimanjaro for skin cancer charity Melanoma UK

David Uttley, 59, of Ashton Street, is hoping the sponsored trek can help him raise a whapping £50,000 for a piece of kit which can quickly detect early signs of skin cancer.

He wants to buy the new state-of-the-art Mole Mapping scanner for the charity Melanoma UK, which wants to put these vital time-saving devices in as many hospitals as possible.

David is also keen to warn others about the dangers of skin cancer – and he is speaking from his own experience.

The dad-of-one is currently free of any cancer symptoms after 15 months of ‎immunotherapy sessions but says he is still ‘living with’ stage IV metastasized melanoma cancer, as specialists have advised him there is still a chance the cancer could return.

He will begin the eight-day group ascent of Kilimanjaro, a dormant volcano in Tanzania, East Africa, on August 2 and is currently training for the challenge.

Kilimanjaro is the highest free-standing mountain in the world is one of the ultimate climbing challenges, as many climbers experience debilitating mountain sickness due to the extreme altitude.

David, who has worked in financial services and is married to Patricia with whom he has a 28 year old son, Oliver, says he will be taking the ascent slowly to avoid getting sick.

His first brush with cancer began when a mole on his back, which he’d had for years, suddenly “turned nasty’ when he was on holiday on Andalusia, Spain, back in 2013.

He says: “I’ve been dealing with various cancer issues over the past nine years.

"The original cancer was diagnosed when I was 49, as a mole on my back that had turned a little “nasty” and my wife spotted it while we were on holiday.

“It had become jagged and angry-looking so I went to my GP and had it surgically removed, but unfortunately the cancer had slowly been working its way inwards.

"That’s the thing about skin cancer, it can travel to other organs if left untreated and often can reach the brain, it’s not just about the skin.

“Five years ago my lymph nodes in my right armpit were removed and last year it struck again - this time, the melanoma had spread to my pancreas which was removed together with my spleen.

"Fortunately it wasn’t actual pancreatic cancer. I know that without the expertise of those surgeons I wouldn’t be here.”

There are around 2,300 melanoma skin cancer deaths in the UK every year but David says many people, especially men, do not do enough to protect their skin from the sun.

He says fair skinned people should always use sun screen and protect their children and warns that if people have moles that change in any way, they should go straight to their GP.

David has set up a GoFundMe page to help with his fundraising project.

Gilliam Nuttall, of Melanoma UK, says: “Our aim is to get as many Mole Mapping devices in hospital as possible.

"The time they save is vital.

"Funding is a key issue and that is why we are so grateful to David.”

To help David visit: https://gofund.me/0737983e