A woman who used sunbeds almost daily for 15 years has issued a warning after being diagnosed with two cancerous moles and left battling red blotches all over her face.
Fionnghuala Maguire says she’s lucky to be alive after years of regular sunbed use left her on ‘deathbed’ twice.
Maguire, 35, said she started using sunbeds when she was just 14-years-old and spent more than 15 years going as often as seven days a week to top up her tan.
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However, in 2020, the mum-of-one’s life was turned upside down after medics confirmed that a mole on her face was cancerous, leading to a skin cancer diagnosis.
She said: "I've been a sunbed user since about 14.
"Back then there wasn't so much of an age limit. I would go quite naturally dark and having a tan gave me a lot of confidence.
"If I was going out on Saturday night or going on holiday, I would use it everyday to get the best tan.
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"During the winter months it was around two or three times a week then I would up it in summer.
"I've probably used a sunbed thousands of times in my life. It was an addiction, there's no doubt about that.
"My mum was diagnosed with skin cancer and had to have a couple of tumours removed and used to tell me to stop using the sunbeds but you don't listen, you think you're invincible."
Fortunately, Maguire’s cancer was successfully treated with immunotherapy - but despite the successful treatment, she was given a second diagnosis in 2021.
Thankfully, following a second round of treatment, Maguire has been given the all clear.
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But she now has to undergo painful laser therapy every six to eight weeks to help heal broken capillaries on her skin - a side effect of immunotherapy.
Broken capillaries are dilated or enlarged blood vessels just beneath the surface of the skin.
After the latest round of laser treatment, dozens of red, painful blotches broke out on Maguire's face, which caused severe swelling and bruising on her cheeks.
Maguire is now urging others not to risk using sunbeds and says she feels ‘angry with herself’ following her health battle.
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"I'm just living in fear of the next mole coming now,” she said. “There's a high probability that the skin cancer could come back at every point.
"I could give myself a slap for using sunbeds, a tan was not worth this.
"I feel so angry at myself. Twice I've been on my deathbed and my son could've been left without a mummy.
"It's not just my life this has affected, it's my whole family's lives."
She concluded: "Having a tan is not worth what could potentially happen. You are taking your life into your own hands. I'm still scared that wanting a tan might kill me eventually."
Claire Reid