A WOMEN who used sunbeds while battling skin cancer had to endure an "excruciating'" treatment which "burnt off" her face.
Julie Elrod, 56 always felt "sexier" and "more beautiful" with a tan so started using sunbeds around twice a week from the age of 24.
But around 12 years later, the mum-of-two noticed a scabby spot on her forehead that wouldn't disappear.
Julie, from Florida, US, had the mark checked out by a doctor and at just 36, was diagnosed with two types of skin cancer – basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).
"I spent every second I could in the sun and it was the biggest mistake of my life," the mum explained.
BCC and SCC are both non-melanoma skin cancers, a form of the disease that slowly develops in the upper layers of the skin.
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It's diagnosed a combined 147,000 times a year in the UK, according to the NHS.
"I just remember thinking [during diagnosis] it's scary and that I was so stupid to do it.
"And then I went back to the spa because that's how addictive it is," she explained.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), sunbeds are as dangerous as smoking.
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Like the sun, they give out harmful UV rays that damage the DNA in your skin cells.
Over time, this may lead to malignant melanoma – the deadliest form of skin cancer – studies have shown.
The mum had around eight surgeries, light therapy to try and kill the cancerous cells followed by more surgeries, before she started using the chemotherapy cream.
The surgeries, which involved 700 stitches, left her with big scars on her face – with some around four inches in size.
Julie said: "They literally cut it [the cancer] off your face and I had to have some skin grafts where I had them cut off my ear and had to get skin removed from someplace else.
"The doctor said I'd like you to go on this chemotherapy topical cream – nobody could have prepared me for what I was about to experience.
"It is so painful, " she explained. "You basically burn your face off every day for a month.
"It was [like] acid burning your face off and trying to kill the cancer cells and it was horrific," she explained.
Julie said the experience made her "want to die.
"That's not an exaggeration it was that excruciatingly painful.
"It would have been less painful to cut my arm off is what I think I told somebody at one point," she said.
"I thought it felt like someone dumping acid on my face and burning it off, sand blasting it right off or putting a blow torch to it," she added.
After deeming her tanning habits as the 'biggest mistake of her life', the retired karate school owner is now keen to urge other sunbed users to stop immediately – before it's too late.
The former sunbed addict now lathers on suncream religiously and visits the dermatologist every six months to get checked out.
As soon as any further lesions pop up, she goes straight to the doctors to get them tested too.
Julie said: "It cost me a lot of money financially but more importantly it cost me emotionally.
What are the symptoms of non-melanoma skin cancer?
The first sign of non-melanoma skin cancer is usually the appearance of a lump or discoloured patch on the skin, the NHS says.
It persists after a few weeks and slowly progresses over months or sometimes years.
In most cases, cancerous lumps are red and firm and sometimes turn into ulcers. Cancerous patches are usually flat and scaly.
The two most common types of non-melanoma skin cancer are basal cell cancer and squamous cell carcinoma.
Basal cell cancer (BCC)
Basal cell cancer (BCC) is sometimes referred to as a rodent ulcer, and this affects the outermost layers of cells in the skin.
Signs of BCCs include a skin growth that:
- Looks smooth and pearly
- Seems waxy
- Looks like a firm, red lump
- Sometimes bleeds
- Develops a scab or crust
- Never completely heals
- Is itchy
- Looks like a flat red spot and is scaly and crusty
- Develops into a painless ulcer
Around 75 per cent of all skin cancers are BCCs. These are typically slow-growing and almost never spread to other parts of the body.
If treated at an early stage, this form of skin cancer is usually completely cured.
If they do become more aggressive, BCCs may spread into the deeper layers of the skin and into the bones – which can make treating it more difficult.
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)
Another form of non-melanoma skin cancer is squamous cell carcinoma.
This is a cancer of the keratinocyte cells which are in the outer layer of the skin.
These cells are mainly found on the face, neck, bald scalps, arms, backs of hands and lower legs.
A lump on the skin may:
- Appear scaly
- Have a hard, crusty cap
- Be raised
- Be tender to touch
- Bleed sometimes
Non-melanoma skin cancer most often develops on areas of skin regularly exposed to the sun, such as the face, ears, hands, shoulders, upper chest and back.
"It was painful, it was probably one of the most painful thing I've ever been through and I would not wish that pain on anybody, that's why I try and warn people now.
"Now, the sun scares me actually because I associate it with pain.
"I'd tell others to wear sunscreen every time you go out – even if it's not particularly sunny out.
She is calling on women to stop using tanning beds.
"They will kill you and ruin your life and your face," she explained.
"The third thing is, to stop now because you can't stop when the first one pops out – it's too late then."
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"If I can get other people to stop and see that it's not beautiful – you might think it's beautiful looking all tanned but eventually there's a darn good chance statistically that this is going to happen.
"I'd say I've now embraced my paler complexion and I see tanned people now and just think it's stupid, as I just look at the sun in a completely different way."
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