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For Tawny Willoughby, the bronze shine from tanning frequently has faded, leaving brutal scars in its place.
“If anyone needs a little motivation to not lay in the tanning bed and sun here ya go!” this 27-year-old mom wrote online. She’s using Facebook and her own journey in hopes of giving a face to a disease.
Willoughby says she spent her high school years in a tanning bed. She never used one twice a day, but because the “tan faded very fast,” she went at least four or five times in a week. Other days, she spent in the sun.
Her story is fairly common, especially among younger folks.
By age 21, doctors diagnosed Willoughby with skin cancer. Six years later, she’s had basal cell carcinoma five times and squamous cell carcinoma once. Her dermatologist usually removes skin cancer at each checkup, happening once or twice a year. Studies show basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer and while it’s rarely fatal, this form is often disfiguring.
May is Melanoma Awareness Month. Her condition has never been classified as melanoma, but Willoughby urges everyone to get a checkup, especially for a new or suspicious mole. With that said, skin cancer doesn’t always manifest as a mole. Any spot that doesn’t heal, that bleeds, that crusts could be cancer.
“The sooner you find it the less likely it will leave a disfiguring scar or grow deep enough to metastasize. Melanoma kills, non melanoma disfigures (and can also kill). Don’t be a statistic!” she writes.
Even if you’re not trying to tan as Willoughby was, the summer sun can take its toll. The Skin Cancer Foundation says there will be 74-thousand cases of melanoma diagnosed this year.
In a just-released study, Consumer Reports found nearly a third of sunscreens fall short of the promised SPF protection.
“Tawney’s face looks like she just finished a treatment with a topical anticancer drug. Hats off to her for what looks like a job well done! The drugs don’t react unless there are bad cells to destroy, so all of those red, scabby areas are cancerous cells being treated. It is wonderful that she has the guts to share her photo. More people need to realize that tanning parlors are dangerous and will give you skin cancer if used often enough. I hope Tawney’s story helps people make the right choices with their skin. Stay in the shade and wear sun block and NEVER go to tanning parlors.” said Dr. Janet Prystowsky
