I was diagnosed with skin cancer days after giving birth - now I'm saving lives

A mother who was diagnosed with skin cancer just days after giving birth to her second child has developed a high-vis vest to cut melanoma rates among construction workers. Hannah Penn became fixated on the causes of melanoma while undergoing treatment. During this time, she discovered that the building sector makes up around 8% of the UK’s workforce but represents a whopping 44% of occupational skin cancer deaths.

In response, Ms Penn, the joint managing director of a creative agency, and her team created UV-U-SEE and “The Higher Vis Vest”. The high-vis vests are printed with the UV-U-SEE silicon logo, which is filled with a long-lasting, UV-sensitive material.

As the sun’s UV level intensifies, the logo changes from white to pink to red, alerting the wearer and fellow workers to apply sun cream and take precautions against burning.

Ms Penn, from London, said: “I went through the cancer treatment that I had with a very young child, which came with its own complexities for me. They didn’t know whether or not some of the nuclear medicine that I had to have to check my lymph nodes, they weren’t sure that would be safe with me breastfeeding my child.

“So it was quite a challenging time to have the diagnosis. What I, as a result of all of that, was really upset about was the risk to my children. Because what I couldn’t separate was the fact that I’d had my son Louis growing inside me at the same time that this cancer had been growing.

“So that was why I started to look into statistics around risk. And what I was trying to understand was, would my children be more likely to have melanoma? Because I had it when they were, you know, when I was pregnant."

She said: “And that was when I found this statistic. So I was actually coming at it from quite a selfish perspective of thinking about my kids, but found this statistic that construction workers make up 8% of the U.K. workforce, but represent 44% of occupational melanoma deaths.

“And I just thought there’s got to be something that can be done to create this alert that I had got in my own personal way. I thought everybody with this level of risk needs to have some way of visualising the fact that they’re in danger and they need to have that brought to the fore.

“And then I started to look into what are the provisions currently on site? What are the attitudes within the industry? I kind of couldn’t believe that there was zero requirement for any kind of skin protection on sites given this risk. And that really was the driving factor behind trying to create a product, because I couldn’t see anything that existed.”

As well as the construction industry Ms Penn, from Pablo creative agency, says the technology can help everyone who spends a lot of time outside, from staff at festivals, athletes playing sports, or even just people popping to the shops.

She said: “Unlike most cancers, skin cancer is 86% preventable. So with the right interventions and awareness, we can save hundreds if not thousands of lives. That’s why all of us at Pablo felt so passionate and driven to use our understanding of how you use brands to change behaviour to spotlight this fatal risk within construction.

“Melanoma is a silent killer. And one that’s so easy to ignore. I was lucky to be caught in time. I hope this will help save other people, too.”

Helping her champion the cause is Shane McCormick, who has worked in the landscaping industry for decades and has had skin cancer three times.

The 50-year-old campaigns for sun cream to be part of the PPE on construction sites, and was recently at the Chelsea Flower Show handing out sachets to workers.

Mr McCormick, from Fair Oak near Winchester, said: “There’s not one person that talks about melanoma within the construction industry as heavily as I do.

“I’m just trying to give something back. I got caught. I can’t do anything about it. But I can maybe help change the concept or the vision of why just protecting yourself is as small as a little bit of sachet on the back with a bit of leaflet, how much information that can do.

“Construction businesses need to take skin cancer more seriously, including sunscreen in the PPE they provide to their teams. I don’t want others to have to go through what I’ve been through, so please make sure you’re wearing sunscreen, covering up, and getting yourself checked regularly.”

Pablo developed the high-vis jacket with LifeJacket Skin Protection, Leo Workwear, and the National Federation of Builders (NFB) and Considerate Constructors Scheme.

Research conducted by Pablo, the NFB, and the Considerate Constructors Scheme found that despite the disproportionate impact of skin cancer on construction workers, 39% of those who work on site do not think of Melanoma as a workplace danger.

Approximately a quarter of site workers said they thought their employer does not take skin cancer seriously. Just over half (51%) said they have not been provided with health and safety training about the dangers of skin cancer.