'I'll fight it with everything I've got': Vinnie Jones and wife reveal they are BOTH battling skin cancer

  • Former footballer, 48, discovered he was suffering from the condition when he had a lump under his right eye checked out
  • He has since had three rounds of surgery to remove cancerous growths
  • Tanya, 47, has also had several tumours removed over the past few years

By Mail On Sunday Reporter

PUBLISHED: 19:01 EST, 23 November 2013 | UPDATED: 03:40 EST, 24 November 2013


Hollywood actor Vinnie Jones has revealed he and his wife Tanya are both battling skin cancer.

The 48-year-old former footballer, who played for Wimbledon, Chelsea and Leeds United before embarking on a successful acting career, first noticed a lump beneath his right eye in February.

But it was only when he went to the doctor to have it checked out that the lump was a melanoma - a dangerous strain of the skin disease which kills around 2,000 people every year in the UK.

Vinnie has now vowed to fight the condition with ‘everything I’ve got’.

Ordeal: Vinnie Jones and his wife Tanya are both battling cancer, it has been revealed

Ordeal: Vinnie Jones and his wife Tanya are both battling cancer, it has been revealed

Speaking to The Sun, the star said: 'Cancer is a horrible word to hear. I've faced the biggest and ugliest lads on the football field and been in some nasty brawls. But this is my toughest and scariest opponent yet.

'When the doctor said I had skin cancer, the first thing I though was, "How long have I got?" '

 

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The lump was removed but two more growths were later discovered. Two months ago Jones had a third operation to have a lump removed from the back of his head.

'Outdoor life': Vinnie Jones, pictured playing for Wimbledon, blames his outdoor lifestyle for his cancer

'Outdoor life': Vinnie Jones, pictured playing for Wimbledon, blames his outdoor lifestyle for his cancer

Various pursuits: Vinnie acting on Elementary and appearing on Celebrity Big Brother back in 2010
Various pursuits: Vinnie acting on Elementary and appearing on Celebrity Big Brother back in 2010

Various pursuits: Vinnie acting on Elementary and appearing on Celebrity Big Brother back in 2010

The star is now being monitored with regular check-ups.

Jones said: 'They have cut out three bits so far and I'm constantly worried now about where I could find it next.'
Jones, a recovering alcoholic who has been sober for eight months, blamed his outdoor lifestyle for the cancer - aggravated by his move to Los Angeles to pursue his film career.

Remarkably, Jones’s wife Tanya, also 47, has also had a number of growths removed over the past few years.

It is thought that her condition could be a side effect of the drugs she has been taking following a heart transplant 26 years ago.

Message to his fans: Hugh Jackman revealed this week he has been treated for skin cancer, getting a growth on his nose removed

Message to his fans: Hugh Jackman revealed this week he has been treated for skin cancer - and had a growth on his nose removed

News of Vinnie and Tanya's conditions come after Hollywood star Hugh Jackman, 45, revealed last week that he has been treated for skin cancer, and had had a small growth removed from his nose.

The Australian actor posted a photograph of his nose online after the procedure, and urged fans to seek medical advice if they have any suspicious moles.

Jones said he hoped to work with Jackman to raise awareness of the cancer.

Over the past 25 years, rates of melanoma in the UK have risen faster than any other common cancer.

About 1,800 people die from melanoma annually in the UK. Even so, nearly 80 per cent of men and over 90 per cent of women are alive at five years following treatment.

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people should stay out of the sun

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Good luck, Vinnie, you're the man!

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Good god! Best of luck to them.x

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Spend minimum time in the sun its great to live in sunny places but not to lie in it.

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My husband had a spot on his neck that kept growing, it ended up, very big, round ball, it just kept growing, it was called squamous cell carcinoma, all from sunbathing 30 years ago, he was lucky the hospital saved his life, he has had the basal cell on his head and nose, they are not dangerous

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sorry to hear that Vinnie , its not only the case a better life in the sun.

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I suppose all that sun just isn't worth it.

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Grab it by the balls Vinnie

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I have a feeling those Tanning sunbeds and chemicals maybe the cause of the rise

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Now they've found a couple of these melanomas, they'll be on the lookout for more quite quickly, so will catch them before they cause too much harm - hopefully. They are like cones that go deep below the skin and other tissues, and the cancer spreads. So one left untreated can be deadly. My ex's friend spotted one too late and was gone in six months. Good to bring awareness of them back to people's minds, especially as people start using sun beds again to keep their tan.

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