I thought my scab was hair dye burn but it was skin cancer – I used sunbeds daily in my 20s & I’ll never forgive myself
A MUM-OF-TWO who thought she had been burned by hair dye was actually battling skin cancer.
Katy Stack spotted a dry patch and a blister on her temple after a salon appointment to bleach her hair blonde from brown.
The 40-year-old beauty therapist thought her skin had burned from a tiny bit of peroxide touching her skin, but when it scabbed over she went to her GP.
Tests carried out after she was referred to hospital showed it was skin cancer.
And now Katy, from Clerkenwell, London, has been left crippled with anxiety as she waits six months for treatment while it continues to grow.
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous, she said: “I noticed a pea-sized bright red mark on my left temple after I’d got my hair done, and within a couple of days it had formed a blister.
"I just thought it was a bleach burn because of the peroxide.
“But it became more aggressive, flaring up and becoming very sore. I had no idea it could be anything serious.”
Katy, who used sunbeds every day in her 20s, kept hoping the blister would go, but when it was still there three months later, she asked her GP to examine it.
She said: “I was told it was an overproduction of skin because of the hair dye - and nothing to worry about it.
"That was in February 2018 and so I didn't worry about it, but the mark didn't go.
“It started looking different in January this year - it was bigger, more inflamed and bright red. I thought I should get it checked out again."
I was in total shock. We’re only told that moles could potentially be skin cancer - we’re never told about dry skin patches
Katy Stack
In February, Katy went back to her GP's clinic, saw a different doctor, and was instantly referred to a dermatologist at University College Hospital, London.
She was due for a biopsy in March, but this was delayed until June when Britain went into lockdown.
Katy - who's mum to Albert, 17, and Tilly, 12 - was eventually diagnosed with Basal Cell Cancer at the UCLH on June 29.
She said: “I wasn’t expecting it to be cancer. It was a total shock and I’ve been extremely anxious ever since.
“We’re only told that moles could potentially be skin cancer - we’re never told about dry skin patches.
";I never thought I would get a diagnosis like this.
I wouldn’t even go on a sunbed now, I never will. I'm living proof of a sunbed’s abuse
Katy Stack
“The dermatologist said it would have been down to sunbed use - the cancer cells could have already been there but the peroxide aggravated it.
"As it formed straight after having my hair dyed, I just thought ‘oh the bleach has just damaged my skin’.
“If that hadn’t blistered my head, I probably would never have noticed and gone to the doctor. I shudder to think what might have happened.
“Getting my hair done led to this discovery, so I’m grateful.”
Katy admits she was addicted to sunbeds when she was younger as she loved having a tan.
“I used sunbeds nearly everyday in my early 20s - before starting as a spray tan technician,” she said.
And she confessed she didn’t use sun cream when she went sunbathing.
“I don’t ever remember having sun cream as a child,” she said. “I didn’t think the knowledge was there.
“We would be out playing most of the day and never covered up.
"I then became a sunbed addict because it was fashionable to be tanned and fake tan products would leave you streaky in the 90s.
“I wouldn’t even go on a sunbed now, I never will. I'm living proof of a sunbed’s abuse.”
The dangers of sunbeds
Sunbeds give out UV rays which are often stronger than the tropical midday sun, meaning they increase your risk of developing skin cancer, .
The risks are greater for young people, so it's illegal for anyone under 18 to use a sunbed.
Prolonged exposure to UV rays increases your risk of developing malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer.
You cannot always see the skin damage UV rays cause. The symptoms can take up to 20 years to appear.
UV rays can also damage your eyes, causing problems such as irritation, conjunctivitis or cataracts, particularly if you do not wear goggles.
The Health and Safety Executive warn people shouldn't use UV tanning equipment if you:
- Have fair, sensitive skin that burns easily or tans slowly
- Have a history of sunburn, particularly in childhood
- Have lots of freckles and red hair
- Have lots of moles
- Are taking medication which makes you skin sensitive to sunlight
- Have a medical condition made worse by sunlight, like vitiligo
- Have a history of skin cancer in your family
- Already have badly sun-damaged skin
The worried mum is now waiting to have the cancer surgically removed. She may need a skin graft and radiotherapy.
She said: “I’ve been offered radiotherapy, and another treatment where they remove the top layer of cells, or remove and then analyse when you’re still in surgery.
“It’s already got worse since January so I’m worried about what another six months wait is going to do.
“I’m struggling to put make-up on and I wonder how I’m going to manage with the open wound and how much larger the cancer will grow.
"At the moment I’m just covering it with a plaster.
“If I'd left it any longer, it would get harder to treat and I would have ended up with a large scar.
"It’s going to grow slowly. Thankfully the dermatologist is reassuring me that it’s treatable.
“There’s a risk I could get a brow droop because there’s a nerve which runs through that area."
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Katy is now waiting for her appointment for the operation at the UCLH or faces paying £6,000 to go private if she wants treatment to remove it before then.
“Since the biopsy, it’s formed as a proper scab. I knock it off accidentally when I wash my hair and then it forms again because it’s cancer,” she said.
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“It’s the big C word and I’m so scared, I just want it removed, but I’m in no financial position to spend six grand on treatment.
"I’ve not been working for the whole of lockdown. I’ve had no pay-out and am a sole trader.”