A sunbed user who became addicted to tanning at just 16, thought he was going to die after he was diagnosed with skin cancer at the age of 21. Jak Howell admitted to lying under the UV lights for well over an hour a week, and is now campaigning for caution after a bleeding mole that appeared on his body resulted in a life-changing cancer diagnosis.
The now 23-year-old said for the past five years, he found himself using the beds up to five times a week tanning for 18 minutes at a time, and said he played down his sunbed addiction to his mum after she voiced concern about it.
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Jak, from Swansea, now makes TikTok videos about his experience of melanoma, a type of skin cancer often caused by too much sun exposure, after he noticed an aggravated mole in April 2021 that later started to bleed, which doctors told him was cancerous.
“I never knew how dangerous sunbeds were, I just thought I was invincible as a teenager.
“I wanted to share my story in the hopes it would help other people, and I’ve had comments from others who can relate to what I’ve been through. I haven’t been on a sunbed since my diagnosis, I only use fake tan now," he said.
“I’d finished school and just started college, and a lot of the people I was hanging around with were using sunbeds. I was just trying to fit into what I thought was normality back then.
“The first shop I used to go to didn’t even have a receptionist, you just paid a machine like a parking meter," Jak said.
Panic struck when Jak received a call with the results as he wasn't prepared for the news he was about to receive.
“I was sat by myself when the doctor rang to tell me I had cancer. Even though I’d been worried, I still wasn’t prepared for how serious it was,” he said.
“I was just speechless, I didn’t know what to say. Everything went silent, my palms were soaking with sweat. I thought I was going to die."
In September 2021 doctors found that Jak’s cancer had spread from his back to his groin, without him having any symptoms to suggest this.
Jak faced radiotherapy and then surgery to remove the lump, as well as lymph nodes from his groin – but when the operation failed to cure the issue he endured a year of immunotherapy treatment and spent Christmas 2021 in a hospital bed.
He said the recovery was “hell” and two weeks after the operation he was scanned and was dealt a blow when he found out the surgery had been unsuccessful.
“The first two rounds of immunotherapy were hell, it was a big shock to my body. It improved after that, but my body has changed – I’m breathless a lot and my tastebuds have changed. I was nauseous and fatigued,” he said.
“But I hate the thought of something controlling me and dictating my life, so I just tried my hardest to continue to be the person I always was, even though it was difficult at times.”
Now in remission after receiving the all clear in December 2022, Jak is working with charities including Cancer Research UK to raise awareness and push for greater regulation to prevent children from using sunbeds. He has been sharing his experience on social media, which has now become his full-time job.
“I hope my story can be a warning to other people, I don’t think enough people realise how dangerous sunbeds are. You need ID to buy an energy drink in a supermarket, but I’ve seen kids being able to use sunbeds no problem.
“I work with a lot of charities now and I’m just trying to raise as much awareness as I can," hr said.
Jak is supporting Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life 2023, in partnership with Standard Life, which is in its 30th year – for more information, visit raceforlife.org.
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