A sunbed fanatic now warns against the dire risks of tanning after spending a total of 15 years battling skin cancer – mum-of-two Caroline Madden started using sunbed at 17
A regular sunbed user has warned of the risks of tanning after she spent a total of 15 years battling skin cancer. Spending her late teens and twenties in the artificial tanning machines, ensuring regular monthly appointments, the mum-of-two shared how she had no idea they could be harmful.
Caroline Madden, 59, began long-term treatment for her first skin cancer diagnosis in 2009 after doctors found a mole on her ankle was at stage three malignant melanoma. She was diagnosed with it for the second time in 2018 after the disease was found in her pelvis. While there is no direct evidence of sunbeds being the root cause of the condition, she continues to push those who continue to use them to be wary.
She said: “The big thing about malignant melanomas is that people don’t take them seriously. You do get the same thing all the time – ‘It’s only skin cancer, it’ll be fine, it will just be cut out’. Everyone who smokes thinks they’re going to be the one who doesn’t get lung cancer, and it’s the same with any sort of sunburn or sunbed use.”
Caroline, from Welton, East Yorks, added: “There will be lots of people who never get anything. It should be taken seriously, but nobody does. Nowadays you have amazing false tans… It’s like, ‘Why are you going on a sunbed?'”
Caroline began tanning on sunbeds at around 17 after they were put in her local health club. She shared how excited she was about the tech which promised bronzed skin after just 10 minutes. However, she was unaware that regularly ‘topping up’ could cause permanent damage to her skin cells and DNA.
She recalled how “everyone [she] knew used sunbeds back then”, adding: “You just booked it and went on, nobody ever spoke to you about them or anything. I maybe went once a month for a few years – dozens of times.”
It was a chiropodist who found the suspicious mole on her ankle in 2009, pushing her to get it checked out by a GP. Once it was confirmed to be a stage three malignant melanoma, she started what would be years of treatments.
She said: “I had an appointment at a very general clinic at the local hospital. I went in and waited my turn, and then they said, ‘You’re not leaving’. They cut it out and sent that off to be tested, and I think probably a couple of weeks later, they called me back in and it was already then stage three malignant melanoma.”
After several more tests, she was advised by doctors to have her lymphatic system removed from the waist down. She was offered the opportunity to participate in a cancer drug therapy trial for Avastin, which she took every three weeks for a year.
Caroline finally was cleared of her cancer in February 2018, only for it to resurface just a few months later in May – this time in her pelvis. She started a different treatment course which included two drugs called dabrafenib and trametinib, which aim to stop virulent forms of cancer from returning.
She said: “That was horrendous. I had it for 18 months, and my body just constantly rejected it and couldn’t cope with it.” Fortunately, she is now clear – though she had a mole safely removed from her back last month.
She shared how many are still not aware that those with such advanced forms of melanomas have to live with their condition – while having to balance the efforts of limiting their effects. She continued: “You just have to hope it doesn’t hit a major organ, as obviously, you’re then stage four, but there’s no way of knowing if or when that might happen, so you just watch and wait – and keep your fingers crossed.”
Dr Julie Sharp, the head of health information at Cancer Research UK, said that Caroline’s case has shown what the dangers of high level exposure to UV rays can cause. Sharp said: “Sunbeds give off ultraviolet radiation (UV), and there is a proven link between UV and skin cancer.
“Almost nine out of 10 melanoma skin cancers in the UK could be prevented by staying safe in the sun and avoiding sunbeds. There is no such thing as safe tanning. Some people are at more risk of skin cancer than others, including those with lighter skin tones, lots of freckles and moles, and a history of burning easily, but everyone who uses sunbeds increases their cancer risk.”