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Eva G
A post-skin cancer treatment photo of 27-year-old Tawny Willoughby has gone viral after she shared a selfie on Facebook sending a message warning about the link between tanning beds and skin cancer. The photo accompanied a message that read: "If anyone needs a little motivation to not lay in the tanning bed and sun, here ya go! This is what skin cancer treatment can look like."Tawny was an owner of an in-home tanning bed and she used it frequently — not realizing the dangers of skin cancer. According to CNN, at the age of 21 Willoughby scheduled an appointment with her dermatologist after learning that one of her classmates in nursing school was diagnosed with melanoma. It was then she was handed the bad news: She had skin cancer.
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Tawny is not alone. RealSelfer mariesnavely discovered a spot on her nose in 2010 and was diagnosed with Basal Cell Carcinoma. She blames her overuse of tanning beds. In her review she says, "I'm only 38 and I wish I never went in a tanning bed." [Read more]
RealSelfer Landalane admits in her review that she used tanning beds and laid out in the sun every summer to achieve that golden tan. She noticed a bump that resembled a clear cyst or whitehead on the left side of her nose, between the bridge and the corner of her eye. She thought nothing of it and decide do pop it. She later went to see her dermatologist and was diagnosed with Basal Cell Carcinoma.
So, just how dangerous are tanning beds? Doctor David Alessi warns us that "tanning beds can be more harmful than direct sunlight." He tells us that he has patients who have developed skin cancer as a result of using tanning beds. [Read more]
Do you agree that there is a link between tanning beds and skin cancer? Join the conversation below.
Photo credit: Tawny Willoughby's selfie posted on Facebook