Builder learns the value of skin cancer rescue

Television builder Greg Roberts could feel the little bump on his back but, despite pleas from his partner, never found the time to get it checked out.

The face of the TV programme DIY Rescue, whose ideal day involved wearing just a pair of board shorts, was always too busy surfing, working or doing something outdoors with friends.

It was only after partner Anna Stuart saw an article in the Herald, which showed photos of melanomas that looked similar to the bump on his back, that he finally made the trip to the doctor.

"To be honest I wasn't terribly worried about it," he said. "I had friends who I would have termed back then as having real cancer.

"Guys who played rugby, who had legs amputated and other friends who have passed away of bowel cancer.

"It was just a little skin cancer. They would pop it out and it was not a drama."

But the 37-year-old, who frequently forgot to put on any sunscreen and who got sunburned every summer, soon discovered the little bump was more dangerous than he cared to admit.

A biopsy revealed it was a melanoma and after a visit to Auckland City Hospital he was told he would need a "fist size" lump of flesh removed.

Because of its location, close to his spinal cord, he also underwent radiation injections and had the lymph nodes removed from under his left armpit.

Mr Roberts ended up taking a month off work and missed about five episodes of DIY Rescue after his body rejected the dissolvable stitches and the scar had to be reopened and drained.

Two check-ups later, things are looking good, but it has served as a warning for him and his mates.

He hopes his story will make others think harder about keeping safe in the sun.

"A lot of good friends I have grown up with, played sport with and worked with have gone for check-ups," he said.

"We have all spent our childhood and adulthood in the sun and given it a good old caning."

Mr Roberts said he would be wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt, plenty of sunscreen, a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses in his job as a builder.

He encouraged others to do the same and said for many that would mean dropping the ego and "being the big man".

"The hardest thing on a building site is a lot of the blokes are working together for the first time. It's not the done thing to be working on the scaffolding with some guy you don't know and ask them to put sunscreen on your back in places you can't reach."

SKIN CANCER

Nearly 300 people die from skin cancer and more than 50,000 cases are diagnosed in New Zealand each year.

The cost to the health system is believed to be more than $33 million a year.