“I have never really been a sun worshipper but I have used sunbeds in the past. I used to hire one for use at home in my late teens/early 20’s then used the stand-up ones on and off at tanning salons a few years after that. I never thought there was any harm in using sunbeds and I can’t remember seeing any warnings at the time either.
In 2015 I noticed a mole on my abdomen getting larger and darker, and after seeing a Facebook post by someone in my cycling club who was getting treated for melanoma I thought I’d best get checked out. The doctor referred me to a specialist who thought it was OK but took a biopsy all the same. The results came back as melanoma in-situ and I was booked in urgently to have a wide local excision. Thankfully they managed to take out all the pre-cancerous cells and I was told to just carry on with my life.
Roll forward to May 2021 and I was experiencing breathing problems whilst training for a triathlon. I originally thought I may have asthma but asked for an x-ray and after that everything happened very quickly when the results came back showing a mass on my right lung. At the same time I’d noticed a mole on my back getting darker and asked to be referred to have it checked out.
After lots of tests and scans and originally being suspected of having lung cancer I was told I had Metastatic Melanoma, Stage 4 with metastases in my right lung. Whilst waiting for treatment I also had the mole removed from my back which was Stage 1 melanoma, was admitted to hospital to drain a large amount of fluid off my lung and an operation to prevent my lung collapsing again.
Shortly after returning home from hospital I started on targeted therapy to treat my melanoma which has been working really well ever since. My oncologist is unable to tell me the primary source of my melanoma but I do know that I would always advise against using sunbeds and to protect your skin when going out in the sun. If my story prevents just one person ending up in my position I would be very happy.”
🧡💪 Thank you so much Angela for sharing your brave story and for taking part in the 100 Miles in May fundraising challenge this #SkinCancerAwarenessMonth 🧡
