‘Doctor mentioned my mole was protected – then I used to be identified with pores and skin most cancers at 32’

A girl hit out at her physician for saying their mole was “safe” – as she is now battling pores and skin most cancers.

Lauren Linford, 32, from Hertfordshire, first seen a black mark on the highest of her foot in 2021. To start with, the make-up artist thought the mark was darkish glitter caught on her physique from doing Halloween glam on a consumer.

However, after she tried to clean it off within the bathtub, Lauren seen that’s was really hooked up to her and on nearer inspection realised it was a mole.

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Two years later and an entire lot of self-advocating, Lauren pleaded with medical doctors to get it eliminated as she could not shake an insidious feeling. Late 2023, the younger businesswoman was known as to attend the hospital to debate her outcomes throughout the identical week as her surgical procedure.

And her worst fears shortly turned a terrifying actuality after a specialist broke the nightmarish information that she has pores and skin most cancers, or a malignant melanoma. Shortly after, Lauren was ushered right into a room with a Macmillan Nurse – one thing that she would by no means think about on the age of 32.

Now, as she awaits her outcomes to see if the stage 1 most cancers has unfold, Lauren is on a mission to boost consciousness. She claims she was advised by two medical doctors and a specialist that her mole was protected – though it was displaying tell-tale indicators of one thing extra sinister.

And, she’s made the bombshell declare that a health care provider steered she makes use of sunbeds earlier than vacation so her pale pores and skin can get ‘used to the solar’, regardless of the official NHS web site warning of the elevated threat of “developing skin cancer” linked with sunbed use.

In an unique interview with Daily Star, Lauren candidly shared: “So two years ago when I was doing Halloween makeup on clients I took a bath and thought I had glitter on my foot because it was that black.

“I went to scratch it off considering it was glitter and I used to be like ‘oh my god that’s hooked up to me’ – how did I not discover that!

“That’s when I booked the doctors appointment and the doctor told me it looks like a ‘pigmentation’ and nothing to worry about, but if it changes colour, size or it becomes risen from the skin then to go back.

“So it really appeared high quality for 2 years, it was utterly flat and black. But once I would go on vacation I might put on further and stronger SPF on that space I wished to guard it from solar harm.”

After a doctor allegedly told Lauren that sunbeds were fine to use, she booked herself into the salon before jetting off on holidays to places like Ibiza.

She recalled: “Coming onto three years in the past once I went to the physician to get my moles checked after the primary appointment, I mentioned I fear as I’d all the time burn – assured – even when carrying issue 50.

“The doctor at the time actually advised me to get a few sunbeds before going on holiday to ‘prep’ my skin because it would make me ‘less of a risk’ of burning and ‘less of a risk’ of getting skin cancer.

“After, I was laying there on the sunbed thinking I shouldn’t be on there because I’m so moley and I’m really risking it, but in my head I’m like ‘a doctor told me it’s better that I do this so I don’t burn’.

“So my thoughts has clearly considering of two various things, the flawed and proper. But technically it’s simply flawed all collectively. It’s put me off happening a sunbed once more.”

On average, Lauren goes on two-three holidays a year and would use the tanning machines a month before going abroad. She would do this for 12 rounds ranging from four to 15 minutes a pop to ‘prep’ her skin.

With recommendations for sunbed use coming from a medical professional, Lauren felt like this was safe to do – despite research strongly suggesting otherwise.

However, Lauren has now realised just how potentially damaging the ‘advice’ has been to her health over the last two years.

“Then after happening two holidays in 2023, I discovered it turned risen and I verify it fairly often,” she explained the moment she noticed a change in her mole. “And I tanned fairly properly final yr so I wished to be extra cautious as I had plenty of new moles as properly.

“So I went back to the doctors in September 2023 and they said the same thing, they just thought it was a pigmentation mole. I didn’t think it was because it changed, it wasn’t flat anymore.

“They mentioned ‘we can refer you if you want’, it wasn’t like they wished to refer me. I advised them to refer me as I wished to double verify.

“They referred me from the doctors to a specialist at the hospital, I spoke to the specialist there and they said the same thing of it being a ‘pigmentation mole’

“I requested for it to be eliminated as I mentioned it’s slightly bit tense having it on my foot, it was making me overthink issues. I’m fairly an anxious individual anyway so I stored it considering ‘oh my god what if it’s this, what if it’s that’.”

Lauren continued to push for treatment as she couldn’t put the nagging feeling of worry to bed. As her mind began to spiral and her anxiety grew, the makeup artist begged the specialist to remove it for a biopsy – despite every medical professional telling her that it’s just a ‘pigmentation mole’

But, Lauren’s intestine feeling was proper. She mentioned: “I felt like I had to push for it, she was pretty adamant that it was a pigmentation mole. The specialist eventually agreed to remove it, so I booked in for it and had it removed.

“Then throughout the week I had a telephone name telling me I would like to return all the way down to the hospital to talk about my outcomes.

“I went down with my mum because it’s not always going to be good news if they tell you to come down to the hospital.

“That’s once they advised me the mole got here again constructive for malignant melanoma and is stage 1.

“So nothing to be totally panicky about it’s something that can be removed. They told me that they’re going to take more tissue from around the area and make sure that it’s all gone and hasn’t spread.

“I used to be booked in for one more surgical procedure per week later to have extra tissue to be faraway from across the space and it’ll take 6-8 weeks for outcomes.”

While it is not possible to pinpoint what precisely brought about her pores and skin most cancers and at what second, Lauren mentioned the Macmillan nurse she spoke to on prognosis was ‘completely shocked’ once they found a health care provider beneficial sunbeds.

“They put me in a room with a Macmillan nurse straight after my results,” Lauren mentioned. “I know they have to do it as protocol but it’s scary as well as they give you the whole cancer chat and told me having one sunbed can make a mole cancerous – which I didn’t know that.

“When I advised the Macmillan nurse he was completely shocked, he mentioned it is utterly flawed info and mentioned that nobody ought to be happening solar beds in any respect. But, that was actually what a health care provider suggested me.

“I cannot pinpoint the blame of my cancer diagnosis on sun beds or sun exposure, but the Macmillan nurse said it could be either or but most likely sun beds just because of the type of mole it was.

“I thought you had to be someone who worshipped the sun to get something like this. It’s put me off going on a sunbed again.

“I’m nonetheless ready to verify there’s no melanoma left. Hopefully I’ll be high quality.”

According to Cancer Research UK: “Sunbeds are typically marketed as a manner of getting a ‘safer tan’. But this isn’t true. There isn’t any such factor as protected tanning from UV radiation. If you need to look tanned, use pretend tan from a bottle or get a twig tan.

“But having a fake or natural tan doesn’t protect your skin from UV radiation. And using a sunbed before sunbathing won’t prevent you from getting sunburn!

“Too a lot UV radiation is the third greatest explanation for most cancers and the principle explanation for pores and skin most cancers within the UK. Every time you employ a sunbed you’re damaging your pores and skin and rising your threat of pores and skin most cancers.

“The good news is that around 9 in 10 cases of melanoma skin cancer in the UK could be prevented by staying safe in the sun and avoiding sunbeds.”

You can discover Lauren on Instagram right here.