BBC presenter Clare Runacres says news of ‘game-changer’ melanoma jab left her ‘in tears’, after she was told she had skin cancer at 20, and had to plan ‘her wedding and funeral at the same time’ when it returned nine years later [Video]

08:14 EDT 26 Apr 2024, updated 09:16 EDT 26 Apr 2024

BBC Radio news presenter Clare Runacres says hearing the news today about a potential ‘game-changer’ jab for skin cancer patients left her ‘in tears’ – after she’s endured her own long battle with the disease. 

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) revealed on Friday that it’s now leading the final phase of trials of a personalised mRNA jab, which early results have shown could drastically improve melanoma survival chances and stop cancer returning.

Broadcaster Runacres, 52, who works across Radio 2, 6Music and 5Live, was first diagnosed with stage two melanoma as a student at university. 

Following initial successful treatment, she embarked on her journalism career but the disease returned nine years, and she was told the aggressive cancer had spread. 

Engaged to her now husband Mike Ramsden at the time, Clare wrote last year that she was ‘planning my funeral when I was planning my wedding’ …