Despite sunbeds being a known factor for cancer, Lily never expected she would get the horrible disease, as she had only been on them a handful of times. But her life changed when the hospital diagnosed her with stage 4 melanoma
For many, holiday prep includes a sunbed to set off the tanning ahead of sunbathing in the scorching heat. But for Lily Murphy, 30, the pursuit of a ‘base tan’ led to a life-changing diagnosis that still haunts her years later. After experiencing one of the most severe consequences of tanning, she’s now petitioning the government to ban sunbeds in the UK.
Lily had only used sunbeds a handful of times, nothing close to the regular routines some people follow. “I’ve probably used sunbeds for less than an hour in total,” Lily said.
It was back in 2018, when she noticed something on her body she hadn’t had there before – a mole. But it wasn’t a ‘normal’ mole, it had darkened and even started to bleed. She went to the doctor, but was told not to worry.
Trusting their advice, Lily continued to use the sunbed before she went travelling to Vietnam and Bali with her friends, seeking to get a ‘base tan’ before she left. “It was literally just, ‘Let’s start my tan before I go on holiday’, just a couple of minutes here, a couple minutes there, just to get the tan going,” she explained.
While she was on her travels, she ensured to use sun cream to protect herself, however as she is very fair skinned, she’d “always get burnt no matter what.” When she came back to the UK, nothing had changed about her mole and she decided to go back to the doctors for a second – but this doctor saw something the first one didn’t.
“That’s when the doctor said, ‘This doesn’t look right, I’m going to refer you on the two-week cancer pathway’,” said Lily. The mole ended up being removed but it wasn’t long before she was called back in for an appointment, where she got the news that changed her life.
“There were two Macmillan Cancer nurses in there too… that’s when they said to me it’s come back as melanoma, stage 1B,” she explained. “I was shocked, I was devastated. But as there was a delay between the call and the appointment, by the time I saw the doctor, it had actually sunk in a bit.”
While stage 1B, melanoma is the earliest stage of skin cancer, meaning it hasn’t had the chance to spread to other parts of the body or lymph nodes and is mostly curable – the reality of her condition came as a shock to Lily and in the support groups she attended – she stood out, as she was the youngest.
“Everyone else was in their 40s, 50s, 60s, it was an experience,” she said. Lily had a wide local excision and a central lymph node biopsy at the Royal Free Hospital in London in 2019, which seemed to have removed the cancer from her body.
“It felt like such a relief to hear that the cancer hadn’t spread – my cancer journey might have been short, it was only a couple of months, but I said to myself, ‘I’ve beaten it’,” said Lily.
“I did think I’ve got another chance in life; let’s just go and have fun, just going on holidays, nights out and just appreciating everyone around me and spending as much time with everyone as possible, because life is so short.”
But everything changed again when she was on a family break to a log cabin, she started to feel unwell and her symptoms quickly worsened. “I was just constantly tired, and I couldn’t understand why,” she said. “The following weekend I worked overtime and had back pain, so I thought I’d sat uncomfortably or something.”
“But then I woke up the next morning and had really bad chest pain and couldn’t breathe, and said to my mum it feels like something’s not right.”
Lily went to A&E multiple times and after repeated trips, where she was quickly dismissed as this was linked to her mental health history. But her mum believed her daughter’s pain and as she works at Watford General – she made sure her daughter was taken seriously, getting her booking for scans and blood tests – which led to another diagnosis. Stage 4 melanoma.
“They said we’ve found some masses in your lung and your neck,” said Lily. Which at first didn’t make sense, considering she had multiple scans which came back okay – however the doctor explained some times in rare cases, melanoma can spread through the blood and not show on scans.
Lily then began her treatment starting with immunotherapy in April 2023, however the doses were too strong and she struggled to handle the doses required with each round costing the NHS £15,000. They then changed her treatment of oral chemotherapy treatments, but that developed into a severe allergic reaction just within 10 days – when she gained a rash that spread all the way down her throat.
However, this wasn’t the worst. She later developed sepsis because her immune system was weak and was quickly taken into hospital.
This February, she started a new treatment – where she is recommended to take 12 tablets a day, however she can only manage four a day. But despite that, the treatment appears to be working – shrinking her cancer. However she has needed to take a break from the treatment as “it’s just too much” on her body.
Before her illness, Lily worked as an NHS admin clerk in Watford General’s dermatology department – regularly seeing younger patients referred for cancer biopsies, many with a history of sunbed use. That experience, both personal and professional, led her to launch a petition in May to ban sunbeds in the UK, inspired by similar bans in Brazil and Australia. She is hoping that she could make a difference – even if just for a few.
”If I could stop just one person using sunbeds to save them going through what I’ve been through, it will be a miracle,” she said “Just going on a sunbed for six minutes can change your whole life.”
She also realises that the costs is too high to the individuals for the NHS and with them already being overburdened – its too much. Her petition, Ban Sun Beds to Protect against Skin Cancer in the UK launched in May and has already seen 700 people sign.
“It was just a spur of the moment thing,” she said. “Every day I’m getting biopsy requests where the patient has a history of using sunbeds, they are a known cancer risk.
“Banning them would save lives – and save the NHS money.” she added
Lily is now on a phased return to work – where she is back booking skin cancer biopsies. “As much as it’s triggering, it’s rewarding – I can help people because I’ve had the experience of the worry,” Lily explained.
In the petition, she also called for better education into skin cancer and the causes as she believes social media and influencer culture glamorise tanning – without showing the risks despite there being safer alternatives around.
“Your tan is semi-permanent, but your life should be permanent,” Lily said
A West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust spokesperson said: “Lily is an inspirational colleague who continues to work tirelessly for the Trust and our patients while undergoing treatment.
“We are in awe of her phenomenal work ethic and her spirit, and we send her all our support during this challenging time.”
To support Lily and her petition – it can be found here
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