Mark Lawrenson wants to thank Football Focus viewer, who spotted his cancer
An eagle-eyed viewer emailed BBC after spotting blemish on ex-Liverpool defender's face, which turned out to be cancerous
MARK LAWRENSON has thanked an anonymous football fan who spotted his cancer while watching Football Focus.
The ex-Liverpool star turned pundit has been given the all clear after two successful operations to remove a “cancerous blemish”.
Lawrenson, 61, revealed he went to the doctors after a TV viewer emailed in urging him to get a dark patch on his skin checked out urgently.
He told the : "That email was the kick up the backside I needed.
“I went to get it looked at immediately, and it was cancerous so I had it whipped out straight away.
"When the viewer's email was passed on to me, I immediately went to my medical centre to tell them and I got to see a specialist that day.
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"He had a look at the blemish through the special instrument they use and said he needed to send me to Ormskirk Hospital to get it taken out.
"I would urge anyone with any similar doubts about a mark on their skin not to wait, and to do the same."
Lawrenson is now trying to track down the Football Focus viewer, whose presence of mind may have potentially saved his life.
The Kop great said the wait for the all-clear from his doctor’s felt “like a sword of Damocles moment”.
Lawrenson has been one of the most recognised pundits on the BBC for almost 20 years - working across television and radio.
He moved into the media at the end of a brilliant playing career which saw him become a fixture in the Liverpool side which was the dominant force throughout the 1980s.
In seven seasons at Anfield, the Republic of Ireland defender made 356 appearances for the Reds - winning five league titles in the process.