When I was a child there were no warnings about the damage the sun could do. My mother used to put olive oil on me to hasten the tan ! Of course I'd burn but that pink lobster look and the inevitable peeling skin was all about gaining a " healthy tan. " Funnily enough, I've never been one for lying out in the sun but I have always loved walking in the countryside and swimming at the seaside. Even when sun screens came out, I ignored the warnings, after all, my skin was used to the sun, wasn't it ! Recently my face has suffered severely from solar keratosis. Dr.Varma treated me. The experience scared me and for a time my face was a mess. You can share this with me at www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham. Needless to say, I now use factor 35 and for the first time in ages my skin looks healthy. I'm caring for it for the first time.

One of the key objectives of the charity will be to raise awareness. Surprisingly whilst the major cancer charities provide sound seasonal warnings about the harmful effects of over exposure to the sun, there is no single high profile nationwide skin cancer charity . Hopefully SKCIN can progress to the point where, in the not too distant future this will not be the case, with SKCIN commanding a very high profile especially amongst young people.

"As one who has always suffered with his skin, I am delighted to be working with SKCIN to "give something back".

As we see the sun so rarely in the UK its easy to be unprepared and negligent about using sun cream. I see the situation as one akin to the use of seatbelts in the 1970's - nobody bothered then but now, aside from it being law, you never give the matter a thought you just do it automatically. Hopefully in the future we'll all be aware of the need to be safe in the sun."