A mother-of-two diagnosed with deadly skin cancer after her parents bought her a sunbed at the age of 16 has spoken of her ordeal.
Lisa Guthrie was devastated to learn she had malignant melanoma after having two moles removed from her back and stomach last year.
She has been in remission since July after successful treatment and has since been made an ambassador by national skin cancer charity Skcin.
Mrs Guthrie, a beauty blogger, is now using her experience to warn others of the dangers.
‘It was something I was into when I was younger,’ she said.
‘But what a lot of people do not understand is if you have even used them when you are a teenager you have damaged your skin.
‘It catches up with you in later life.’
Lisa Guthrie, 35, was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, last year after having two moles removed, from her back (right). The mother-of-two became obsessed with having a tan (left) after her parents bought her a sunbed at the age of 16
On holiday Mrs Guthrie would be so desperate to return with a tan she only ever used a low factor sun cream and oil and as soon as she showed the slightest hint of changing colour, she disposed of it all protection
Mrs Guthrie, who has more than 100 moles covering her body, would use a sunbed every day as a teenager.
She admits she would set it to run for one hour and would often fall asleep when using it.
After giving birth to two children, Mrs Guthrie disposed of her sunbed, but still her obsession with having a tan remained.
She continued to visit her local tanning salon, using beds up to nine minutes, four times a week.
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And on holiday, so desperate was she to return with a tan, Mrs Guthrie only used a low factor sun cream and oil, and at the slightest hint of a tan disposed of any protection at all.
But, her tanning addiction was put into stark perspective at a visit to her dermatologist.
The specialist said she had a malignant melanoma, after having two suspicious moles removed from her stomach and back.
The 35-year-old, form Consett, County Durham, is now in remission, but has been warned she is at high risk of the cancer returning.
THE DEADLIEST SKIN CANCER
Melanoma can appear anywhere on the body, but they most commonly appear on the back, legs, arms and face and even underneath a nail.
Though less common, they often spread to other organs in the body, making them more deadly.
The most common sign is the appearance of a new mole or a change in an existing mole.
Signs to look out for include a mole that is:
A helpful way to tell the difference between a normal mole and a melanoma is the ABCDE checklist:
- Asymmetrical – melanomas have two very different halves and are an irregular shape
- Border – melanomas have a notched or ragged border
- Colours – melanomas will be a mix of two or more colours
- Diameter – melanomas are often larger than 6mm (1/4 inch) in diameter
- Enlargement or elevation – a mole that changes size over time is more likely to be a melanoma
‘I was obsessed with getting a tan when I was younger,’ she said. ‘I have always been obsessed with looking good.
‘All my neighbours knew I had a sunbed because my room would glow blue.
‘At the time if you had a tan you looked good. The tubes on the sunbeds weren’t as powerful as they are now.
‘You would go on it for 20 minutes. I would set it for an hour and fall asleep, I was that bad.’
Due to the fact Mrs Guthrie has so many moles, she was sent for yearly appointments with a dermatologist.
Over the years she has had a number removed, but said she was not concerned about skin cancer because each time the biopsies had come back benign.
But in May, at her yearly check, Mrs Guthrie, a beauty blogger, had two more moles removed.
‘The nurse said the one on my back looked a little bit grey in colour,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t bleeding or itchy and it didn’t effect me in anyway.
‘I just thought she was being over cautious.
‘She said lets be safe and get these two off. This was normal to me. It wasn’t anything to worry about.
‘About two weeks later I was going to Benidorm with the girls on holiday. I plastered my oil and low factor sun cream on still not thinking I had skin cancer.
‘I got back off holiday and about one week after being back I received a telephone call from my doctors’ secretary. She said I needed to come in for an appointment.
‘I asked why does she need me to come in. She said she couldn’t tell me but try not to worry.
‘I was obsessed with getting a tan when I was younger,’ Mrs Guthrie said. ‘I have always been obsessed with looking good.’ As a teenager she would fall asleep on her sunbed in her bedroom for up to an hour each day
‘I remember putting the phone down and breaking down. I told my husband ‘I have got skin cancer I know it’. We were both in massive shock.’
Mrs Guthrie’s husband Mal, 41, a lifeguard, accompanied her to her doctor’s surgery where she was given the devastating news that she had malignant melanoma.
She said: ‘I got upset, it was awful. I have a lot of moles so I had done a lot of research on it. I knew it was the fastest, most dangerous spreading cancer.
‘They said they thought they had got it all but they would have to go back and cut wider to make sure it hadn’t spread.
‘I was handed Macmillan brochures and cancer brochures of people I could talk to. It was all becoming very real.’
Mrs Guthrie, who is mother to Sonny, 11, and Harley, eight, underwent a second operation to check the cancer had not spread.
And after a five-week wait for results she was told she was in remission.
‘It is still quite raw. I was given the all clear on Saturday which is fantastic but I am not looking forward to going for my check as it makes me worry they are going to find something else,’ she said.
‘If I had not been in the system for regular dermatology checks I would have had no reason to think there was a problem.
‘It’s changed me and it’s made me appreciate life a lot more. It has made us stronger as a family.
‘It makes me want to spend as much time with them as I can and enjoy life as much as I can as you don’t know what is around the corner.’
Mrs Guthrie is now using her beauty blog to raise awareness of skin cancer among young girls and is warning them not to use the sunbeds and get spray tans instead.
Mrs Guthrie is in remission but has been warned her cancer could return because she has more than 100 moles covering her body. She now aims to raise awareness, urging young people to be cautious in the sun
The 33-year-old, who works as the manager of a dental practice, said: ‘I am a lot more cautious now.
‘I work until 2pm and if it was hot I used to put my bikini on and sit in my garden and bake.
‘Now it does not interest me one little bit. I would rather look after my skin and not have to go through the trauma of this again.
‘When I used sunbeds it was quite popular, it was a cool thing to do. I don’t think it is now. I think you are more savvy if you don’t use sunbeds and look after your skin.
‘It is not what you do now it is what you did when you were younger. It may take a few years to catch up with you but it will catch up with you in the end.
‘There are some great spray tans out there these days. A tan is not everything.’