Avisit to the dentist saved my life

A MAN was diagnosed with a deadly skin cancer after his dentist spotted an unusual mark during a routine checkup.

- PAIGE OLDFIELD

Dentist John Hewitt noticed a growth whilst examining Billy Ford at City Dental Practice in Manchester city centre in May last year.

John urged his patient to get the brown lesion checked out immediately, so 78-year-old Billy sought a second opinion from a dermatologist and was referred to an eye clinic.

Further tests revealed Billy, from the Westhoughton area of Bolton, actually had a malignant melanoma – a type of skin cancer.

Billy, who has attended the practice for 30 years, said: “John spotted the brown lesion on my eyelid during a routine check-up last May and asked me what it was.