An obese woman who had a cancerous mole removed used her 'brush with death' to help her lose six stone.
Anna Yates, 25, weighed 19 stone and was a size 20 when she went on her first girls' holiday to Rhodes with her best friend.
She got sunburnt during the trip but thought nothing of it, until her mother Carolyn became worried about a mole on her arm two months later.
Miss Yates, from Belper, Derbyshire, had the mole removed and was later stunned to be told it was potentially deadly melanoma.
She vowed to change her lifestyle and start living more healthily by changing her diet and enrolling on an all-female bootcamp.
Anna Yates weighed 19 stone after adopting an unhealthy lifestyle at university. Her health scare and the passing of her grandad made her start a diet and take exercise
The care worker shed six stone in just a year and now weighs a healthier 12st 12lb.
'I'd been overweight for as long as I could remember but I just tried to ignore it while I was a student,' she said.
'All my friends were gorgeous size 8s but I didn't have the energy to try and lose weight.
'Rhodes was my first holiday with just friends which was probably why I ended up with sunburn, but it wasn't until the October that my mum made me get my mole checked.
'When I found out it was cancerous I was so shocked. I felt foolish for putting myself at risk and I was suddenly desperate to be fit and healthy, so that I could tackle anything that came my way.
'It really seemed like a brush with death and was the wake-up call I needed.'
As a student at the University of Chichester, Miss Yates piled on the weight thanks to her partying lifestyle and late-night takeaways.
Though she felt self-conscious alongside her slim friends, she couldn't wait to go on her first holiday with them.
While she spent most days covered up, she was caught out on one day.
'On the hottest day I got really sunburnt and was in pain, but the following day we'd arranged to go on a donkey ride.
'I was overweight and now bright red too - looking back at the photos, I realised how big I really was.
Miss Yates went on her first girls' holiday to Rhodes where she got sunburnt. She had a mole on her arm checked two months later after her mother became concerned about its appearance
The mole was removed (pictured left and right after surgery) and tests confirmed it was cancerous. The 'brush with death' made Anna adopt a healthier lifestyle by changing her diet and taking up exercise
Anna said she was envious of her slim friends at university but that she lacked the energy to do anything
'I'd had a mole on my left forearm since I was a child and my mum noticed it was looking different.
'We used to argue a lot, mainly about my weight, but I'm so glad I took her advice and went to the doctors.'
She had surgery to remove the mole, which was sent away for tests and, to her horror, was revealed it was cancerous.
Doctors warned her she she had a slightly higher chance of cancerous cells developing elsewhere in the body, as a result in October 2013.
Her BMI was high and they advised her to start looking after her diet and taking exercise.
The following February, her grandad dies of pancreatic cancer, which gave her even more incentive to look after herself.
Anna ditched her unhealthy diet of crisps and pies and started eating homemade meals and exercising
'I was heartbroken but knew that it was time to start taking care of myself,' she said.
'Bootcamp was so scary at first but I fit in right away.
'Everyone had the same goals and the support network was amazing.
'I was just determined to be slim and healthy, so I started going along three times a week and quickly became addicted.
'Previously, I'd been eating crisps in the morning, pies for lunch, followed by more crisps and a chocolate bar.
'Then in the evenings I'd have something from the freezer like potato smileys.
'Now I have homemade smoothies for breakfast, salad for lunch and a "clean" tea like fish cakes or turkey burgers with vegetables.
'Ever since getting sunburned in Rhodes, I'm so careful when I go in the sun - I go through tons of sun cream.
'Now that I've turned my life around, I'm thankful that I had the health scare before it was too late.'
'Since dropping four dress sizes, I'm like a completely different person. I no longer feel like the fat friend and now I love getting dressed up for girlie nights out.'
Anna looked at pictures of herself (left) after having a cancerous mole removed and decided she needed to lose weight. She says she now loves getting ready for girlie nights (right)
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