Anna McCartney was just 15-years-old when she developed a dangerous addiction to sunbeds. She would pop to her local salon to bake under UV rays almost as often as she'd eat breakfast.
Then aged 41, the mum was finally hit with the consequence of her seven-year love affair with binge-tanning, nearly two decades after she'd stopped.
In May 2021, Anna was looking at a selfie on her phone when she spotted an unusual spot on her forehead that had suddenly appeared overnight.
Having suffered with severe acne in her early twenties, Anna knew it wasn't a 'normal spot' and decided to keep an eye on it.
She took a new photo each morning and quickly realised that the small lump on her face was rapidly growing.
Feeling concerned, she contacted a plastic surgeon and cancer specialist who immediately booked her in for a biopsy.
The following week, Anna receive a call from the doctor to tell her that the lump was cancerous - she had a skin cancer known as squamous cell carcinoma.
"I was really shocked because after the biopsy, my skin had healed so quickly, so I assumed everything would be fine," Anna said.
"To hear the word cancer was terrifying but I knew I was in safe hands. Luckily, everything had been caught very early and was treatable."
In June 2021, Anna underwent a 30-minute skin graft to remove the cancer, and left the procedure feeling "mortified".
"For such a small lump, they had to remove quite a lot of the skin around it and I've been left with a large horseshoe-shaped scar on my forehead," she said.
"When I first peeked at it under the gauze, I was just stunned. Getting into my friend's car when she picked me up from the hospital, I burst into tears.
"I was just so angry with myself for the damage I'd caused to my skin for the sake of a tan. This scar will be with me for life and it could have been so easily prevented.
"It was a really scary time and I found the healing process difficult. The skin was stretched and tight, so I was suffering with severe headaches during the healing period."
Despite the tough recovery, Anna says her post-op results were worth it when she was given the all-clear from cancer after five weeks.
"It's a very aggressive form of skin cancer so I was really lucky that it was caught early and acted on quickly," she said. "To get the all-clear was such a relief."
Now left with a visible scar on her face, Anna, who lives in Liverpool with her daughter Ariana, nine, hopes to warn others about the negative effects of UV exposure.
"I've been very conscious about sun safety for the past 15 years, but the damage was already done way back when I was younger and naïve," she said.
"Since my diagnosis, I've become even more aware of the sun and protecting my skin. I wear SPF every day, even on a cloudy day."
Anna, who runs a cosmetic clinic, is very vigilant on sun safety and has organised for her employees to undergo skin cancer training at work.
"I'm a huge advocate for sun safety and skin cancer awareness, it's become something that I'm very passionate about," she said.
Reflecting on her teenage habit, Anna said: "The education on sun safety was not there when I was younger, especially as I was not only a sun worshipper, but I am embarrassed to say, addicted to sunbeds.
"When I think back, I used a sunbed almost every day from the ages of 15 to at least 22 years – shocking, I know. Roll forward 20 years and I paid the price.
"I still love the sun, but now I protect my skin with SPF and wear a hat. The damage I have caused to my skin was not worth the tan, you can buy a bottle of fake tan for £3 and avoid the ordeal that I have had to go through."
Anna believes sunbeds should be banned as they have "no place in the world of beauty and cause more damage than a tan is worth".
She added: "The scar on my head is still there and reminds me every day what an idiot I was when I was younger.
"Not only could I have prevented this, but I could have saved a lot of money reversing the ageing the sunbeds and sun exposure have caused too."
Do you have a story to share? Get in touch. Email nia.dalton@reachplc.com.
