I’m happy to stay pale and healthy after scare
REBECCA Woods was 18 when she discovered an ugly mole on her leg.
She went to the doctor more for the sake of vanity because she didn’t like how it looked.
The doctor referred her to a dermatologist but due to a health service mix-up it was several months later before she learned she had cancer.
Rebecca, 22, who lived with her family in Lossiemouth at the time, said: “I was obsessed with being tanned. I wouldn’t leave the house without fake tan between the ages of 14 and 18. “Now I’m happy being pale. I’m never going to try to be tanned ever again.
“I have always worn sun cream but I wouldn’t stay in the shade in the hottest time of the day and wouldn’t cover up.
“In really hot countries I would think, ‘I’ve got sun cream on – it will be fine.’ But I didn’t reapply it throughout the day. I would put it on once and think it would last the day.”
After a holiday in the Dominican Republic with her mum Kate, dad Jock and sister Heather, she discovered the mole on her right thigh.
Rebecca, a veterinary nurse in Inverness, had a biopsy but was only told she had melanoma five months later.
She had surgery to remove the cancer and now applies factor 50 and stays in the shade.
Rebecca said: “Check the UV index – it doesn’t need to feel warm to need protection.” what happened to me but I also liked lying in the sun and went plenty of holidays. I wouldn’t put on enough cream or a high enough factor because I was desperate for a tan.“
Lynsey still likes a tan but these days it comes from a bottle.
Her daughter Ava was just 18 months at the time of the scare and now Lynsey makes sure she is covered up in the sun.
She said: “I protect her like a maniac. She always has sun cream in her bag to take to school.”