BBC actor Finnian Garbutt was diagnosed with malignant melanoma after spotting a lump behind his ear at the end of 2020, which he originally thought was an “abnormal mole”
A BBC actor was left speechless after being told he had skin cancer. The talented star is now sadly “entering his final stages of life” as he dedicates all his time to his 18 month old daughter.
Hope Street actor Finnian Garbutt, originally from Bangor, discovered a bump behind his ear towards the end of 2020 but initially dismissed it as nothing more than an ingrown hair. Yet when lockdown restrictions lifted and he was finally able to visit his barber for a trim, alarm bells rang when his hairdresser observed that the lump had expanded “quite substantially.”
Finnian described his skin cancer diagnosis as utterly devastating, particularly since he had “never been one for sunbathing, sunbeds or sunworshipping.” Back in 2022, he explained: “On a bright sunny warm day, you’d be more likely to find me seeking shade indoors than soaking up the rays,” reports Belfast Live.
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Discussing his diagnosis, Finnian went on: “On shaving the right side of my head my barber noticed that the lump had grown quite substantially since the last time I had seen him. Because of its position behind my right ear, I couldn’t get a good look at it but following my new haircut my mum and Louise were definitely worried and alarmed about what they could see. It looked like a mole that had grown abnormally.”
“Following a series of assessments, I then received the words that no one ever wants to hear: ‘You have cancer.’ At this stage the doctors said it was a malignant melanoma but they were unsure at what stage I was at. My world came crashing down around me. I was 25 years old; I had my whole life and career ahead of me. I just kept thinking that I was going to die.”
“Further assessments including an ultrasound and a fine needle biopsy determined that the cancer was at Stage 3, it had spread into my neck. I then had to have a PET scan and full body CT scan to see if the cancer had spread into my organs. If so, I would have been dealing with a Stage 4 diagnosis. Thankfully the cancer had not reached that stage of development but Stage 3 melanoma would require intensive surgery and treatment.”
In February 2022, Finnian endured 12 hours of surgery during which 75 lymph nodes were extracted from his neck and face. The growth behind his ear was also excised, with skin grafted from his thigh to repair his skull.
Sadly, three years on Finnian is now “entering his final stages of life” after the Stage 3 skin cancer metastasised throughout his body. Read more about the recent news of Finnian’s health here.
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