A former sunbed user has shared a brave selfie showing the serious damage her quest for a tan has done.
Lorraine Henderson, who is from Livingston, Scotland, shared photographs of her skin cancer on Facebook with a stark message: "Be aware. Sunbeds...leave permanent damage!"
Henderson, 40, said she wasn't looking for "sympathy" but wanted to show what years of "abusing sunbeds" could do to the skin.
She explained that she had never used suncream when going on sunbeds.
Additionally, she would spend nine minutes at a time on the beds, which would also be set to "high impact" in a bid to get a better tan.
Her Facebook status has been shared almost 4,000 times and many people have praised her for opening up about her struggles.
It is estimated that 113,000 people are affected by skin cancer every year in the UK.
According to Cancer Research UK, skin cancers might look like:
- A spot or sore that does not heal within a month
- A spot or sore which itches, hurts or bleeds for more than a month
- Areas where the skin has broken down (and formed an ulcer) and it hasn't healed within a month
Henderson, who used sunbeds from the age of 13 and never bothered with suncream, said she first noticed something was wrong when a spot on her face just wouldn't clear up.
After a year, she was advised by a friend to go and get it checked out by medical experts.
She said her doctor took one look at her face and told her she had skin cancer.
The mum-of-one has since had surgery to remove the cancer, but it has left her with a large scar down her face.
She told the Mail Online: "I’d go on holiday and get the best tan I could, then come back and really hit the sunbeds to keep my colour up.
"Seeing that big scar on my face really hit home about abusing my skin. I don’t think there’s enough warnings out there about sunbeds."
Many have praised Henderson for sharing the shocking images on Facebook, with some saying it would definitely make them think twice about using sunbeds in future.
Karen Friel wrote: "You should be proud of this post and raising awareness of the dangers of sun / sun beds. I for one will think twice about using a sun bed again."
While Tracey Fowler said: "Sorry to hear this. Very brave of you, rather inspiring actually! Wish you a speedy recovery."
