I loved suntanning, until I got skin cancer

After years of sunbathing and using a tanning salon without worrying, Kass Barker, now 26, was diagnosed with stage one melanoma at just 22 years old.

I’ve always loved to seize any opportunity to top up my tan. As someone with a fairly olive complexion living in a country where there isn’t that much sunshine, the threat of skin cancer never really crossed my mind. In fact, I'd barely even heard about the risks of it.

Until a few years ago, skin cancer was rarely spoken about. Like many Brits, I took any and every opportunity I could to get a bit of colour in the sun. And when I started working on cruise ships in 2018, I became obsessed with how I looked and felt when I had a nice tan.

So when I was 20 and saw that a new tanning salon had opened up around the corner, I’d top up every time I felt the need to – over the next year, I went once or twice a week.

I’ll be the first to admit that despite warnings from my family about the risks of tanning, I loved it. I never had any concerns about developing skin cancer. I always thought that it could never happen to me – but now I know firsthand how dangerous sunbeds and UV rays are, and I hope that everyone learns the dangers of indoor sunbeds before they set foot in them.

A worrying mole

Ever since I can remember, I’ve had a mole on my left wrist. It’s always just been there – it never bothered me and I never paid a lot of attention to it, but in November 2020, I had an overwhelming feeling that something was wrong.

To this day I still can’t explain it, but I just felt like I needed to get it checked. I didn’t have any signs or symptoms of cancer and knew that doctors wouldn’t take me seriously unless there was a reason for the scan, so I exaggerated and told them that the mole had changed.

The first doctor I saw wasn’t sure what it was, but didn’t actually think it was a mole. However, she performed an ABCDE check for moles – looking at asymmetry, borders, colour, dimensions and everything else – and it fit into every single category. I was then classed as a two-week emergency cancer case, which meant I would be prioritised for a biopsy within a fortnight.

Because it was so small, the doctor ended up removing my entire mole during the biopsy. When weeks went by without any results, I decided to call the hospital to make sure everything was okay. But when the reception answered and urged me to come in the next day, I knew something was wrong.

"Has no one called you about your results yet?" the nurse asked. I could hear the worry in her voice and started preparing myself for the worst. Despite reassurance from my friends and family, I couldn’t stop worrying. It was the middle of the pandemic and I knew they wouldn’t ask me to go into hospital if it wasn’t important.

A shock diagnosis

My gut feeling was right. On December 24, 2020, I was diagnosed with stage one melanoma, the worst type of skin cancer because it can spread to your organs. Even though I’d already prepared myself and had a gut feeling of what the results would be, I was shocked because I was so young. It felt surreal.

I’m a very positive person and when the doctors reassured me that the cancer was very treatable, I was so relieved to hear it was still at the earliest stage. I’ve never felt so thankful for listening to my instincts and getting it checked. Who knows how bad it could have been otherwise?

In February 2021, I underwent a second operation to go deeper into the skin to prevent any cancerous cells from spreading to my nearby lymph nodes. After another couple of months of waiting, I was finally given the all clear from that mole.

In October 2021, I had to get another three moles removed, all of which had slightly changed in shape or were starting to itch. I was very anxious to get the results back from those, but thankfully the operations were successful and none of the moles were cancerous. I was given the all clear, which was a huge relief.

Raising awareness of skin cancer

My dad was diagnosed with prostate and bone cancer back in 2011, so I’d seen how ill he’s become. But when people think of skin cancer, they think it’s just skin cancer – and that included me. Melanoma is not something that’s spoken about nearly enough – in fact, before my diagnosis I hadn’t ever heard of it, which is so confusing to me when it can be just as deadly.

If there was a cream (like SPF lotion) that doctors said could prevent breast cancer or lung cancer, or any other kind of cancer, I think everyone would be buying it – but for some reason people don’t see skin cancer as such a threat. It’s just as deadly as other cancers though. Melanoma can kill.

Dangers of sunbeds

I’ve come across so many TikTok videos of people promoting sunbeds lately, and it frustrates me so much. I don’t understand how they are still legal and in business. I feel like the people promoting them are either unaware of the dangers, or just in it for the money. I absolutely love being tanned, but it’s not worth your life.

I've recently come back from a year abroad in Australia where sunbeds are illegal and there are billboards every few miles promoting skin cancer clinics, and I wish that the UK took it as seriously. Obviously the UV rays are different, but I wish that there was more awareness surrounding the risks of sun rays and sunbeds. There is so much awareness around the dangers of smoking – all the warning labels on cigarette packs and ads that show you worst case scenarios – and I wish that they did the same surrounding melanoma.

Protecting your skin

I never thought I’d be diagnosed with cancer. To this day, I can’t get my head around the fact that I could have died from it. As an ambassador for the Melanoma-Me Foundation – a charity that provides personal and group counselling for melanoma patients and their loved ones – I’ve met people with skin cancer who were the same age as me, who have sadly passed away since. It’s terrible. It makes me realise just how lucky I have been with my diagnosis.

Now, I’m happy to say that I’m more than three years cancer-free. I won’t need any more check-ups unless I notice any changes, but I’m still extra cautious as skin cancer is known for coming back.

I’m someone with a lot of moles and unfortunately, mole mapping in the UK is incredibly expensive, so I pay extra attention to my spots and am always looking out for any warning signs.

I always make sure to wear SPF 50 – even on cloudy days – and when I’m with my friends, I’m like the mum of the group, always making sure they reapply sun cream every two hours.

I really wish people took melanoma and skin cancer as seriously as other cancers. I’m determined to help raise awareness of it – wearing sun cream and avoiding sunbeds doesn’t guarantee that it won’t happen to you, but it does prevent your chances significantly.

Read more

7 surprising areas you should check regularly for melanoma (Yahoo Life UK, 7-min read)

The exact amount of SPF you need to apply everyday (Yahoo Life UK, 6-min read)

Man’s ‘bump on head’ turns out to be sign of skin cancer (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)