Sunbed addict sisters, 19 and 24, BOTH diagnosed with deadliest skin cancer just weeks apart
WHEN she was diagnosed with melanoma at the age of 24, Sarah Burnside said it was terrifying hearing the word cancer.
But weeks later when her little sister Rhianne Smith, 19, was also diagnosed with the deadliest form of skin cancer, she said she “cried and cried”.
Mum-of-two, Sarah, 24, used to top her her tan post holidays, but after finding two suspicious looking moles on her foot and leg, she was shocked to be told she had melanoma.
Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the UK.
There are more than 16,000 cases a year and approximately 2,300.
Melanoma is caused by overexposure to the sun and experts have also previously warned about the danger of using sunbeds.
After learning of her sister’s diagnosis, Rhianne, 19, decided to get a mole on her face checked by her GP.
And she too was devastated to be diagnosed with the same disease.
This is why The Sun previously launched its Dying For A Tan campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of using sunbeds, which can raise your risk of skin cancer and cause premature ageing.
The pair, from Darlington, County Durham, are now issuing a warning to sunbed users after Sarah was forced to have a ‘chunk’ taken out of her leg and Rhianne had a mole cut from her face.
Council worker, Sarah, said: “It’s definitely scary hearing the word cancer.
“At first, I was relieved and just felt lucky that I’d found it early because if I hadn’t, we don’t know what would have happened.
“My family were more upset than me because it was just operations and I can handle that and I was just happy I didn’t have to have chemotherapy.
“But when Rhianne was diagnosed, that was worse.
“I hadn’t really cried about myself but when I found out about her I cried and cried because it’s my little sister.
“I would rather it have been me again. She’s only 19 and it was on her face.”
The mum-of-two was diagnosed with skin cancer on her foot in June and after insisting that doctors also remove a mole from her leg, she was diagnosed with skin cancer for a second time in July.
A worried Rhianne rushed to get her moles checked as she was a more avid sunbed user than her sister and was also diagnosed with skin cancer in her face in August.
Sarah said: “I got two new moles on my foot and leg that I didn’t like the look of.
“The one on my foot was irregular and darker and the one on my leg changed colour every day.
“Some days it was purple, some days it was blue or red and someone had posted on Facebook that they had found out they had skin cancer so I went to get the moles checked by a dermatologist.
“They weren’t worried about the mole on my leg but they were worried about the one on my foot so that was removed.
“I asked them to remove the one on my leg as well because I had a feeling and that was also cancerous.
“After I had my second diagnosis, the doctor said he’d never seen a 24-year-old with two melanomas.
“If you aren’t happy with a mole and you have a gut feeling that it’s not right, ask to have it removed because if I didn’t ask, I’d still have the cancerous mole on my leg.
“If I hadn’t been diagnosed with skin cancer twice then Rhianne would never have gone to get her mole checked.”
Psychology and counselling student, Rhianne added: “After I was diagnosed, I kept trying to distract myself so it wasn’t until about three days later when it hit me that I’m only 19 and I have skin cancer and so does my sister.
“Our mum blames herself even though it’s not her fault but she just wants to take it away from us.
“I had a mole on my face which started changing and with it being on my face I noticed that it was getting smaller so when Sarah was diagnosed I thought I definitely needed to get it checked.
“Never in a million years when I was using the sunbed did I think I’d be diagnosed with skin cancer but I’m 19 and I’ve had to have a mole cut out of my face and I’ll be scarred forever now.”
Sarah would have 40 minutes worth of sunbed sessions over the space of two weeks before a summer holiday as she believed it would protect her skin from the heat when she was abroad and two nine minute sessions a week when she got back to top up her tan.
Meanwhile, sister Rhianne would use the sunbed twice a week in the weeks leading up to a holiday.
Sarah said: “I’ve learned since that even just one sunbed session can increase the risk of skin cancer.
“I’d heard myths about how using the sunbed before a holiday can protect you, I didn’t have any idea how dangerous just one session is.
“I thought the only people who got skin cancer were older people who’d abused sunbeds for years and never wore sun cream.
“I didn’t realise that one sunbed could make a difference.
Dying For A Tan campaign
There 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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“Don’t think it’s never going to happen to you. We know lung cancer exists but people still smoke. A tan isn’t worth it. It isn’t worth skin damage, cancer, or wrinkles.
“You can get a tan from a bottle.
“I’ve lost count of the messages I’ve had from people saying they’ll never use a sunbed again after what happened to me and they’re getting moles checked and that’s the best thing to come out of it.”
Rhianne added: “It could happen to anyone. I used to have the mindset that it wouldn’t happen to me.
“I wear suncream every day now, whatever the weather is like.”