A woman who continued to use sunbeds even after being diagnosed with skin cancer has urged others to stop before it's too late, and now regards her tanning addiction as the 'biggest mistake of her life'. Julie Elrod, 56, began using sunbeds approximately twice a week from the age of 24 onwards and would stay on for the maximum amount of time.
Julie says she just always felt 'sexier' with a tan, but unfortunately, some 12 years later she came to regret her habit after noticing a scabby spot on her forehead she just couldn't get rid of After getting it checked out by a doctor, Julie was diagnosed with two of the most common types of non-melanoma skin cancer - basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.
Despite being diagnosed with two types of skin cancer, Julie continued her trips to the tanning salon, knowing full well how 'stupid' this was but being too addicted to stop. She likens the treatment she endured during this time to being 'burnt by a blow torch', remarking that it 'would have been less painful to cut my arm off'.
The mum-of-two, who was left with 500 to 700 stitches following Mohs surgeries - a gruelling procedure that saw surgeons cut away thin layers of skin to look for signs of cancer
Noe she has shared shocking selfies which show the fair skin on her face after the chemotherapy cream had 'burnt' it off.
Julie, of Tampa, Florida, US, said: "It is so painful. You basically burn your face off every day for a month. The pictures of me with a bright red face are not enhanced - they have no filter and they're exactly how [it looked].
"And every day I had to put cream on top of that. It was basically acid burning your face off and trying to kill the cancer cells and it was horrific. I literally wanted to die, that's not an exaggeration it was that excruciatingly painful.
"It would have been less painful to cut my arm off is what I think I told somebody at one point. I thought it felt like someone dumping acid on my face and burning it off, sandblasting it right off, or putting a blow torch to it."
Doctors advised Julie to use the chemotherapy cream for one month, and she managed to apply it for 27 agonizing days. After beginning treatment, however, she developed more skin cancer and so had to undergo additional surgeries plus two skin grafts.
Having 'never worn sunscreen' before getting cancer, Julie now lathers it on and also makes sure to visit the dermatologist every six months.
According to Julie: "It cost me a lot of money financially but more importantly it cost me emotionally. It was painful, it was probably one of the most painful things I've ever been through and I would not wish that pain on anybody, that's why I try and warn people now.
"Now, the sun scares me actually because I associate it with pain. I'd tell others to wear sunscreen every time they go out - even if it's not particularly sunny out.
"Number two, absolutely stop the tanning beds, they will kill you and ruin your life and your face. The third thing is, to stop now because you can't stop when the first one pops out - it's too late then."
She continued: "If I can get other people to stop and see that it's not beautiful - you might think it's beautiful looking all tanned but eventually there's a darn good chance statistically that this is going to happen.
"I'd say I've now embraced my paler complexion and I see tanned people now and just think it's stupid, as I just look at the sun in a completely different way."
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