Mum gives up sunbeds after finding cancerous freckle on her leg

Massage therapy business owner Paris said melanoma was a ‘silent killer’ (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)

A former tanning addict has warned people against using sunbeds after she survived a brush with skin cancer.

Paris Tippett, 25, upped her time in the tanning booths to as many as three 14-minute sessions a week last year as she didn’t want to lose her glow under lockdown.

The mum-of-one said: ‘I was using sunbeds more in between lockdowns because I didn’t know when I was going to be able to go again.

‘From last summer I upped it to two [sessions] a week, sometimes three for 12-14 minutes a time over the course of four months, and that’s when a little freckle on my shin came up that winter.’

Expanding on what she saw, Paris said: ‘I was moisturising my leg and I thought “oh that looks different, that’s a new one”. It was on its own at the front.

‘I kept an eye on it, still carried on using the sunbed for a few weeks with a plaster over it, but then decided I needed to get it looked at.’

The business owner who runs PYT Massage in Crowthorne, Berkshire, visited her doctor in June and was referred to specialists in hospital.

There, Paris underwent a biopsy and was devastated to learn she had melanoma skin cancer.

She was operated on twice in Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)

Surgeons removed the freckle on July 20 and she faced a ‘hellish’ fortnight wait for her results on August 3.

Three weeks later she went back for further treatment and had lymph nodes removed from her groin.

To ensure it hadn’t spread, they operated down to the bone on her shin in taking out an even wider section of tissue.

She says there are ‘amazing’ bottles of fake tans out there which she’ll use instead (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)

The tiny cancerous freckle Paris spotted while moisturising (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)

Paris, whose daughter Saskia is three, said it felt like ‘winning the lottery’ when she got the all-clear on September 23.

She said she found the sunbed sessions helped her through ‘down patches’ when she experienced seasonal affective disorder (sad).

But Paris said ‘it’ll be fake tan only from now on’.

Caption: PIC FROM Kennedy News and Media (PICTURED: PARIS TIPPETT, 25, IN HOSPITAL AFTER HAVING SURGERY) A pale mum who jumped on sunbeds to banish winter blues and boost her tan was horrified to be diagnosed with skin cancer – and is now issuing a stark warning to tanning addicts. Paris Tippett, from Crowthorne, Berkshire, used sunbeds on and off from the age of 18, but started going twice-weekly for up to 14 minutes a session last year. Not only did Paris, 25, find the tanning sessions gave her a desired golden glow, she claims they also helped her through \’down patches\’ – including when she experienced seasonal affective disorder [SAD]. DISCLAIMER: While Kennedy News and Media uses its best endeavours to establish the copyright and authenticity of all pictures supplied, it accepts no liability for any damage, loss or legal action caused by the use of images supplied and the publication of images is solely at your discretion. SEE KENNEDY NEWS COPY – 0161 697 4266 Photographer: Kennedy News and Media Provider: Kennedy News and Media Source: Kennedy News and Media Copyright: Kennedy News and Media (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)

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She added: ‘I couldn’t believe that sunbeds could do this. I’ll never get on one ever again, it’s not worth it.

‘The thing with melanoma is you don’t know you’ve got it, it’s a silent killer. It doesn’t show necessarily in a mole – it can be an uneven patch of skin.

‘I would say to anyone who is thinking of using sunbeds to invest in an amazing tan – there are some amazing tans out there.’

MORE : Sunbed salon worker fired because she used to have skin cancer wins pay out

MORE : Sunbeds are ‘death machines that cause cancer and should be banned’

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