I don’t sunbathe but I’m dying of skin cancer – my body is riddled
A MUM dying of skin cancer said her diagnosis came as a huge shock – as she has never sunbathed.
Shellie Clark was told she had melanoma – the deadliest form of the disease – five months ago.
The 38-year-old said she has never worshipped the sun and fears if it can happen to her, the “Love Island culture” will be the death of many young people.
She warned the ITV2 show could prompt a rise in cases of skin cancer, as young fans try to emulate the stars.
It comes after islander Amy Hart revealed on Loose Women that the girls on the show ignored producers and refused to wear sun cream.
This week Fabulous launched its Dying For A Tan campaign, to raise awareness of the devastating impact sunbeds can have on users’ health.
Around 16,000 new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the UK every year, and six Brits lose their life to the disease every day.
Shellie – mum to Ethan, 15, and Joshua, 14 – said: “All Love Island is promoting is to be beautiful, but you need to be tanned.
“The focus is you want to go brown.
“There is also the pressure on social media to be body beautiful.
“I can imagine skin cancer is going to rise profusely in the next couple of years and it is a worry.”
SPOT THE SIGNS OF MELANOMA
The most common sign of melanoma is a new mole or a change in an existing mole.
In most cases, melanomas have an irregular shape and are more than one colour. The mole may also be larger than normal and can sometimes be itchy or bleed. Look out for a mole which changes progressively in shape, size and/or colour.
The ABCDE checklist should help you tell the difference between a normal mole and a melanoma:
- Asymmetrical – melanomas have 2 very different halves and are an irregular shape
- Border – melanomas have a notched or ragged border
- Colours – melanomas will be a mix of 2 or more colours
- Diameter – most melanomas are 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
Source: NHS
Former bar manager Shellie said her skin is so pale, she’s never tanned – so was shocked to be told she had just months to live.
“I never sun worshipped, I always kept covered up,” she said.
“I have such pale skin, and I knew from a young age that all I did was burn.
“I never tanned, so I never bothered trying.
“If it can happen to me, who has literally stayed covered up, then it can affect anyone, especially the younger generation.”
Shellie, from Maidenhead, Berks, spotted a mole on her leg had changed, but didn’t realise it needed to be checked.
Then she ignored more warning signs – fatty lumps, a constant cold, and struggling to walk downstairs and finish her sentences.
But when she noticed a lump above her left breast, Shellie decided to check it out.
Her GP referred her to a breast clinic, where specialists carried out tests which revealed her skin cancer.
“When I was told it was melanoma, I had to look it up,” she said.
“I didn’t know anything about it. I presumed all the signs would be on your skin and not inside your body.”
Doctors initially gave Shellie between three and four months to live.
“I was told I needed to go home and put my affairs in order now,” she said.
“I can’t describe those dark few days of no future.
“But we are now beyond the first prognosis, my first milestone was reaching my son Joshua’s birthday in May, so that was great.
“We’ve just passed another one, my partner’s birthday on Saturday.”
Now she wants to raise awareness to stop others facing her ordeal.
DYING FOR A TAN
“Everyone has moles, I didn’t have the education and wasn’t informed enough about the changes to them,” she said.
“I really want to influence that.
“If I had known that little bit of information it could have been 100 per cent curable.”
By the time doctors detected Shellie’s cancer it had already spread to her ovaries, adrenal glands, soft tissue, lymph nodes, lungs, chest wall, both breasts and her brain.
So far she has stunned doctors, by living longer than the three months they predicted.
She is having immunotherapy treatment to try and extend her life, and give her longer with her kids.
STOP DYING FOR A TAN
here are an estimated 7,000 tanning salons in Britain, with some offering sessions from as little as 50p a minute.
Kids as young as EIGHT are using sunbeds, with seemingly little understanding they are playing Russian Roulette with their health.
According to Cancer Research UK, Melanoma skin cancer risk is 16-25 per cent higher in people who have used a sunbed (at any age), compared to people who have never used sunbeds.
This is because sunbeds pelt the skin with such strong UV rays which increase the risk of developing malignant melanoma – the most serious form of skin cancer.
Just 20 minutes on one is comparable to four hours in the sun – with many stronger than Mediterranean rays at midday.
In many cases the damage is invisible until it’s too late, as it can take up to 20 years to become apparent.
Around 16,000 new melanoma skin cancer cases are diagnosed in the UK every year – that’s 44 every day.
There are around 2,300 melanoma skin cancer deaths annually – that’s more than six every day.
It’s part of the reason the World Health Organisation has deemed sunbeds are as dangerous as smoking.
This is why Fabulous says it is time to stop Dying For A Tan.
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