A mother mistook facial cancer for a ‘clogged pore’ and only went for a test after seeing a TikTok warning about skin cancer.
Lauren Smyth, 29, used tanning beds in her early 20s but hadn’t touched one for years.
So she didn’t pay much attention to the little pimple that developed on the top of her nose.
Dermatologists have even tried to unclog “clogged pores” during facials.
But the mother of two from Peakhurst, Sydney, Australia, was scrolling through TikTok last month when a video made her stop.
It shows a young woman diagnosed with an aggressive skin cancer after discovering a spot similar to Lauren’s.
A biopsy revealed that the stay-at-home mother had squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer.
While her growth was slow, she was told the cancer would spread and she is now undergoing topical chemotherapy treatment.
She wants to warn others about the importance of sun protection and encourage them to have any suspicious areas checked.
Lauren, mum to Jesse, three, and Marcie, one, said: “Sunbeds aren’t worth your life. I haven’t touched one in years but once the damage is done, it’s done.”
Lauren said she was never a regular tanning bed user, but was a frequent summer tanning salon visitor in her early 20s.
She said: “If I was going on holiday or it was coming up to summer, I would want to get a tan, I would go maybe once a week.
“I never used them harshly, but I used them. When you’re younger, you never think something like this could happen to you.”
Lauren said the spot on her nose developed about four years ago, which she only noticed after scrolling through photos.
Because it was so small and not dark like a mole, she never paid much attention to it.
She went to have it checked, along with other moles and spots, after seeing the video in August.
During her appointment, she was asked if she had ever used sunbeds.
She said: “I was told that if I had used sunbeds more than ten times before, a long time ago, my risk of skin cancer would have been significantly increased.
“The doctor said they thought it would be harmless.
“But I had a really bad feeling. I called every day to ask when I would get my results.”
A few days after his biopsy, the doctor revealed it was cancer and his options were either six weeks of topical chemotherapy or surgery.
As the operation involved removing all of the skin from her face, as well as the margins, she was advised to try chemotherapy first.
She has now been on treatment for two weeks.
She said: “It’s had a big impact – I’m constantly worrying about whether the cancer will spread and I’m constantly checking to see if I have any other spots.
“It keeps me awake at night and I even dream about it.
“I caught mine very early and I want to encourage others to go get the spots checked.
“Don’t use a sunbed: you can get the same tan with a bottle from the store.
“And I want to share the importance of sun protection: if there was a cream to prevent breast cancer, you would use it.
“There is a cream to prevent skin cancer, but people don’t apply it every day. And they should.”
