A young woman got the terrible news of having a skin tumor that could not be treated anymore, although she had hardly ever used the sunbed. Shockingly, she had only sunbeds once or twice in her life.
23-year-old Chloe Oxley, who comes from County Durham, got sad when she was told by the doctors that her melanoma was in the lungs and the neck, making it inoperable, and it would eventually lead to her death. Doctors believe her limited sunbed use (which was just seven or eight sessions), combined with sun exposure during her childhood, was responsible for the cancer to grow so quickly.
A Devastating Diagnosis
In 2021, Chloe’s first indication of melanoma was a mole on her back, but she didn’t think it was serious and decided not to go to the doctor to check it. Two years later, when she finally went to see a doctor, the cancer had already spread to other parts of her body.
“I never thought this could happen to me,” she explained. “I only used sunbeds a few times before holidays, and I didn’t even burn easily. But the damage was done.”
The Dangers of UV Exposure
It is a fact that even the quickest of tanning sessions carried out on a sunbed largely elevate the odds of a person getting melanoma. Dr. Sarah Brewer, a medical nutritionist, spells out: “UV rays mess with the DNA of skin cells, which can be the initial step in the chain reaction towards cancer. A single tanning bed session can up to 20% melanoma risk.”
This case demonstrates an important fact that melanoma can appear long after the exposure and with the cumulative effect of sunburns during a person’s childhood.
Watch Out for These Symptoms
Chloe is very much in favor of others having regular skin check-ups:
- New or changing moles (asymmetric, irregular borders, color differences)
- Itching, bleeding, or crusting
- Swollen lymph nodes (a sign of spread)
“Maybe if I had known about the symptoms in advance, the situation wouldn’t have been this serious,” she said.
An Emotional Appeal from a Young Cancer Patient
Seeking a new lease of life through immunotherapy, Chloe dreams that her story will not only discourage people from visiting tanning beds but also will prompt them to have their skin checked early.
“I may not make it to 30, but maybe I can make someone else’s life better,” she said. “No tan is worth this.”
