A midweek evening shortly after the first lockdown started, and Ballinteer-based Evelyn Byrne was still getting used to working from home.Married to Eoin and mum to six-year-old Conor, she works for a pension investment company. In a bid to cheer herself up and distract herself from the strangeness of lockdown, she headed to her bedroom to put on some fake tan.I twisted around to check Id covered my shoulder and I caught sight of something very dark on my shoulder under where my bra strap would be. I could see this small dark circle. Eoin was in the bedroom too I asked him did I always have that? He thought I had, that it had been there ages, but I felt Id never had something so dark on my shoulder or anywhere. 
Bryne recalls feeling a niggle of worry, particularly as her Australia-based sister has had basal cancer, which along with squamous cell cancer are the two non-melanoma skin cancers. Non-melanoma is the most common skin cancer type, though the least aggressive. Melanoma skin cancer, however,  is less common but more aggressive.
A few days later, Byrne caught sight of the dark circle again and decided it needed checking with the GP. Ive a notes app on the phone and I put it on my GP list. I was nervous about going because Covid case numbers were very high. I just wanted to wait a while, she says, explaining shes on medication for an auto-immune condition.
It was two months later, towards late May, when she visited her GP, who said it didnt fit the typical profile of melanoma skin cancer it was round, not misshapen, 4mm, where theyre usually 6mm but because of its colour referred her to a specialist. 
Im so lucky she did, says Byrne, aged 39 at the time, adding that she felt nervous but also optimistic. She met the specialist a month later and an appointment was set to have the mole cut out. Again, she was positively reassured the specialist didnt think it looked like melanoma.
Lonely experience
Some weeks later, three days into a family holiday in Wexford, Byrne was on the beach when she got a phone call that devastated her. The specialist confirmed melanoma. I needed to drive back up to Dublin the following Friday for a Covid test and have the operation on Monday further skin excision to check it hadnt spread.
Heading in for surgery alone due to Covid restrictions on that mid-July morning, she felt very lonely. At a time like that, you want your husband there. 
Prior to surgery, her melanoma had been staged at 2A. If I hadnt waited two months, would it have been 1A, she wonders. This staging also required the removal of a lymph node to check for further signs of cancer.
It was August before she got the good and bad news. The melanoma hadnt permeated through other layers of skin. But they hadnt actually got the lymph node it was in an awkward place. I needed a second operation. 
Removal of the lymph node in September left an extensive scar. They found nothing alarming and they were able to largely say I should be OK. I got this news in early October just before my 40th birthday. It was the best present ever, says Bryne, whod taken time out from her job everybody at work had been hugely supportive.
Conor started school last September. Minding him while attending hospital was tough, especially without support of both sets of grandparents all are in their 70s and were cocooning. The families of his friends were fantastic, looking after him whenever I had to go to hospital. I just told Conor Id something on my shoulder and the doctors wanted to make sure it wouldnt make me sick.
Melanoma risk
 Pale and freckled, Byrne isnt a sun-worshipper, though she sun-bathed once or twice in Australia with her sister. I wouldnt generally sit out in the sun. 
Bernie Carter, assistant director of nursing at Marie Keating Foundation and an oncology nurse, warns against deliberately trying to get a suntan. A tan is a sign DNA in the skin has been damaged. Three or more sunburns before age 20 increase melanoma risk by two to four times later in life.
 Skin cancers the most common type of cancer in Ireland, with more than 13,000 cases diagnosed annually. It accounts for over one-third of all cancers diagnosed here each year. According to the most recent National Cancer Registry statistics, we now have twice the number of cases we had 10 years ago and its expected to double again by 2045 from what it is now.
Carter would like to see sunbeds banned outright in Ireland as they are in Australia. Just one sun-bed session a year increases risk of melanoma by 20% – each additional sun-bed session in that year adds an extra two per cent. 
Young people are at particular risk the WHO says the risk of melanoma increases by 75% when sunbeds are used before age 30. Average skin cancer risk from sunbeds can be more than double that of spending the same length of time in the Mediterranean summer sun at midday, says Carter.
Check it out
Signs of non-melanoma skin cancer include any new lesion in the skin thats present for three weeks or any change in a lesion you already have. These always warrant a GP check. For melanoma red flags, think A, B, C, D, E (A-symmetry, Border, Colour, Diameter, Evolving) in relation to moles or birthmarks. Watch out for changes in symmetry, border, colour and diameter. Is it evolving in any way growing, sticking out more, oozing, itching or bleeding?
Carter says melanoma the most aggressive type if caught in time has a very good cure rate: 91% five-year survival. Were not the best in Europe but were getting better all the time. 
Byrne, who now has consultations with her dermatologist every three months, urges everybody to get to know their body and not to delay visiting the GP with any health concern. Until I went to the specialist, I never realised something so small could be so serious. 
*Marie Keating Foundation Talks Cancer podcast series is free a safe space for people navigating cancer. It covers topics including risk reduction, diagnosis and treatment. It offers straight-talking conversations with professionals working in cancer, as well as patient stories. This season, Talking Melanoma explores Irelands most dangerous skin cancer type. The eight-episode series features dermatology specialists, as well as a psycho-oncologist. It launches in May available to stream wherever you listen to podcasts. Visit www.mariekeating.ie/podcast
Be sun smart

• Know the UV index: check out exa.mn/UV-index. If it’s under 3, you dont need sun protection (get your Vitamin D now); 3 and above you do.
• With sun-screen, think UVB protection (factor 30 or above for adults; factor 50 for children) and UVA protection look for broad spectrum or UVA logo printed in circle on tube. Water-resistant doesnt mean water-proof reapply every two hours, more often if swimming in sea/pool or exercising. Theres no once-a-day sunscreen other than a tent, says oncology nurse Bernie Carter.
• Clothing cover as much skin as possible. Choose closed woven material, especially for children. Kids beach clothing should have a UVA stamp. Wear a wide-brimmed hat. Skin cancers common on the face, backs of hands, ears, neck and top of head for bald men.
• Seek shade especially when UV index is 3+ and between 11am-3pm. Ensure childs buggy has a shade. Wear wraparound sunglasses that provide UV protection.