Skip to content

MP treated for cancer gives child sunburn warning

Paul MoseleyNorfolk political reporter
Ben Goldsborough Ben Goldsborough is wearing a grey suit and standing outside a row of homes, one of which appears to be from the tudor-era.Ben Goldsborough
Ben Goldsborough said completing his cancer treatment was "absolutely a weight off my shoulders"

An MP who has completed his skin cancer treatment said he believed his disease developed because he was sunburned as a child.

South Norfolk Labour MP Ben Goldsborough was diagnosed with stage two melanoma shortly before Christmas 2024 after a mole on his arm developed into a lesion.

The 35-year-old has now finished immunotherapy but said he thought his cancer had most likely come about after being burned while holidaying in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, as a toddler.

He urged people to use sunscreen and cover up in sunny weather to protect themselves and their children.

Ben Goldsborough Ben Goldsborough is on the right hand side of the picture ringing a wall-mounted bell in a hospital. To the left a female NHS worker is clapping.Ben Goldsborough
Goldsborough rang a bell with NHS staff to mark the end of his treatment

Last year Goldsborough told the BBC he found out he had cancer after cutting himself on chicken wire fencing.

The Labour MP continued working while undergoing immunotherapy - a treatment that boosts the body's own immune system to fight the disease - but admitted it had "taken a toll".

The treatment has now finished, but doctors will still need to monitor him with scans and check-ups for the next 10 years.

He paid tribute to the NHS and for the support from family, friends, constituents and "also random strangers that just bumped into me in the supermarket".

"I can tell you for free that they gave me that little boost when I needed it," he added.

While urging people to make sure they got checked out if they had any concerns about moles or lesions, he said he believed his skin had been damaged decades ago.

"We think that it's because I was badly sunburnt in Great Yarmouth as a toddler," he explained.

According to the charity Melanoma Focus "one blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence more than doubles your chances of developing melanoma skin cancer later in life".

"We have to be sun safe," said Goldsborough.

"You need to make sure that you're wearing really high factor protection sunscreen, putting on a hat, making sure you're wearing the right clothes," he added.

Do you have a story suggestion for Norfolk? Contact us below.

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

More stories like this