Read James' story of being diagnosed with skin cancer (BCC)

In this article
The scar, the words, and the lesson I didn’t see coming
Please note this blog contains graphic images.
Life can be funny. I suffered from depression for years and the words that helped me most were from the autobiography of a cancer survivor describing how fear was a priceless education. He concluded by detailing an email from another cancer patient - leading him to this new school of thought: “You don’t know it yet, but we’re the lucky ones”, it read.
This extract meant so much to me, around 2004/2005, I put it on the wall beside my bed. It was my light in the darkness and despite moving from my family home in 2010, it remains on that wall to this day. But what I didn’t know was, for almost all those years, I had cancer myself.
I’m an actor and as I started my career, I felt I looked pale on camera, so in 2005 I used tanning beds for two to three months. After noticing damaged skin on my hip, I stopped immediately and had no further issues in that area. However, I soon discovered a flat white, scar-like area of skin that was waxy in colour on my right cheek, just below my eye.
This, of course, is one of the 5 main signs of basal cell carcinoma but as I was young and still suffering from acne, I assumed it was an acne scar. And I believed this for 13 years before a few bits of acne within the scar area didn’t heal and with the marks affecting both my appearance and my career, I went to my GP. As 13 years had passed and I had never noticed the tumour grow, I didn’t believe the BCC diagnosis I received and sought second opinions before committing to a biopsy, which confirmed the dermatologists were correct. Pictured is James before his second surgery.

Facing the scar: What I wish I’d known about healing and fear
Two weeks later it was time to remove the dressing and look at my scar for the first time. This was one of the scariest experiences of my life. But with hindsight, it’s not something that should be feared. What I saw that day was just the beginning of an 18–24-month healing process. If you’re in a similar situation and fear how a scar will affect you, don’t. Just wait, do what your doctor advises regarding wound care, and worry about it in two years once you know how it will look - if you can still see it. Pictured is James' scar in December 2020.

"From fear, comes freedom"
You don’t know it yet, but we’re the lucky ones.” We all learn what this means. I already had when I pinned that extract on my wall, as I added four words of my own at the bottom of the page. ‘From fear, comes freedom’.
James Doherty
Pictured is James Mid 2022.

Perspective through pain: How facing cancer changed my view on life
Facing a disease that threatens your career or even your life, puts everything into perspective. You quickly realise how insignificant most problems are and what really matters. When thinking about what you could lose, you realise what you have and how lucky you are. Especially those of us in the western world. As someone who grew up in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, I’m acutely aware how lucky I am to only be describing the viewing of a skin cancer scar for the first time, as one of the scariest experiences of my life. So many have been and will be through much worse, be that cancer, other diseases, war, poverty, or something else. I’ll never forget my GP’s intelligently tactful words when he told me I had BCC. “Don’t worry, it’s the best possible form of cancer to get. 99% of the time they cut it out and it’s gone.”
In many ways; I really am one of the lucky ones. Pictured is James after surgery.

James Doherty
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