An influencer has died aged 30 after documenting her battle with skin cancer. Patricia Rite, from Spain, had more than 300,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok, where she would regularly post fashion and beauty content.
In the lead up to her death on 16 April, the influencer and former dating reality TV star had been documenting her battle with skin cancer, which she was diagnosed with four years ago after visiting a doctor to remove a birthmark.
In a post to her Instagram page in December 2020, Patricia explained that she was diagnosed with skin cancer a year and a half before and thought she had gotten rid of it before doctors told her they’d found a metastasis – the spread of cancer cells – in her right lung and glands.
Instagram content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
“Today, I feel a little stronger. Since yesterday, I haven’t vomited and I’ve started eating, which I hadn’t done since Friday, and I’m starting to improve,” Patricia said in her final Instagram post, which she shared on 5 April. “Let’s go little by little.”
There are two main types of skin cancer: Non melanoma skin cancer, and melanoma skin cancer. According to Cancer Research UK, there are around 156,000 new non-melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK each year which equates to 430 every day.
There are also around 16,700 new melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK each year which equates to 46 every day. Melanoma skin cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the UK, and incident rates are higher in both cancers for people over the age of 75.
“Different types of skin cancers vary in prevalence,” Dr Thomas Tull, consultant dermatologist at the Cadogan Clinic says. “The most common type of skin cancer in the UK is basal cell carcinoma which accounts for approximately 75% of skin cancer cases or 100,000 cases per year. Melanoma is one of the most serious types of skin cancer but is less common, with approximately 16,000 cases are diagnosed in the UK each year.”
What causes skin cancer?
“There are multiple factors that contribute to developing skin cancer, and these include sun exposure, skin type, age and underlying medical conditions,” Dr Tull says. “An important cause of skin cancer is ultraviolet (UV) light through sun exposure or tanning beds. This damages the DNA within the skin and leads to the development of skin cancer.”