Woman's cancer diagnosis after dentist noticed spot

Freida was shocked to find out she had cancer after barely noticing the spot on her ear

A woman is crediting her dentist with her early skin cancer diagnosis after he was the one who spotted a suspicious mark on her ear.

Freida Platt, 85, from Wigan said the mark was so small, she would "have never gone to the doctor for it".

But her dentist told her to book an appointment after seeing the mark at a regular check up, which led to a biopsy and an early catch of the melanoma.

She said: "I am more than grateful to him, God knows what would have happened, he's saved my life."

Early diagnosis

The small mark started out red, and Mrs Platt assumed it was a burst blood vessel - a normal side effect of the medication she was on.

She said: "I hadn't noticed it, how could I have known that it was cancer?"

Mrs Platt did not have any pain to alert her to the melanoma.

"I'd have gone a long time with this, it would have spread and I wouldn't have known," she said.

A dentist spotted skin cancer on Freida's ear

Mrs Platt is now planning to thank the dentist, who does not know his prompt has led to the diagnosis.

"I am going to give him a card and thank him for finding this," she said.

"If he hadn't mentioned it, I would be in a different position right now.

"I am so lucky."

Mrs Platt is having treatment to have the cancer removed and all the signs show it is treatable.

Dental crisis

Mrs Platt now wants to highlight the importance of getting a dentist.

Her daughter, Katherine Harrison, had been trying to secure her an NHS dentist slot for over six months before she found one.

Mrs Platt said: "It had been causing me a lot of trouble.

''We'd been calling around and I just couldn't get one, it's a huge issue.

''A dentist is essential, you go to them regularly and they can find stuff for you. It's not fair on anyone to miss out on regular health care.''