An air hostess who was convinced her aching fatigue was caused by an exhausting combination of heartbreak and jet lag was devastated to discover she was suffering the deadliest form of skin cancer.
Chloe Broad, 24, presumed her busy cabin crew schedule, coupled with the aftermath of her relationship ending, was the cause of her ‘constant exhaustion’ that struck last year, so booked three weeks off work to recover.
But a week after her break finished, Ms Broad, from Exmouth, Devon, happened to spot a suspicious-looking mole on her right arm, which felt ‘dry and itchy’.
On the other arm sat another dark spot, which seemed to have changed colour over the last few months.
She visited her GP who, after a quick examination, referred her to a specialist for a biopsy.
‘Even just by looking at it, they were pretty certain it was skin cancer,’ she said.
Indeed, the biopsy confirmed the life-changing diagnosis — both moles were melanoma skin cancer, the deadliest type.
She had no doubt as to what had caused the disease. For six years, Ms Broad had ‘abused’ sunbeds, using them almost daily.
Chloe Broad, 24, assumed her exhaustion was a result of her air hostess job, but in fact it was deadly cancer.
The air hostess booked three weeks off work to catch up on sleep, believing her symptoms were nothing to worry about
‘Very rarely would I put a high SPF on, so I knew I was at risk of skin cancer,’ she said. ‘You just never think it’s going to happen to you.
‘I was getting sunbeds every single day. Once I started getting darker I would do the maximum, which was 24 minutes. I was doing that for six months.
‘I was spending easily hundreds of pounds a month on getting a tan. I was a sunbed addict.’
She added: ‘I spent all this money to be tanned and look better and now I have this big scar on my arm.’
Thankfully, doctors were able to remove both lesions during the biopsy, and were confident they extracted all of the cancer.
Ms Broad is currently in remission and will have to undergo biannual checks for cancerous moles on her body for the next five years.
Now, she has ditched her sunbed habit for good — and is warning other people that it’s ‘not worth the risk’.
‘I’m definitely more paranoid about my moles now,’ she said.
‘I just feel silly that I spent all that money to essentially be more attractive and now have a scar that’s seen at almost all times.
Ms Broad noticed a mole on her arm had become itchy and dry
She began using sunbeds when she was 18 and, by the time she was diagnosed with cancer, was using them daily
‘It’s only in the last month or so that I’ve started feeling better. I was fighting off cancer without knowing it — my immune system was so low.
‘I just wanted to stay in bed thinking I was jet lagged or heartbroken, but actually I didn’t have energy because my body was fighting off this cancer.
‘Now I just use spray tans. I still love a tan, it’s just not worth risking your health.
‘It’s so much quicker, easier, cheaper and safer to do spray tans. I regret ever going on the beds.
‘I would much rather not have the scars it’s left and have saved the money.’
A UK poll conducted last year found that more than a quarter of adults use sunbeds, with many unaware of the risks.
In 2009, the International Agency For Research On Cancer classified the use of UV-emitting tanning devices as carcinogenic to humans.
And according to Cancer Research UK, too much UV radiation from both natural sunlight and sunbeds is the leading cause of skin cancer in the UK.
‘Every time you use a sunbed you are damaging your skin and increasing your risk of skin cancer’, the charity says.
