From Tanning Enthusiast to Cancer Patient: A Cautionary Tale
Katie McVeigh never imagined her occasional visits to tanning shops would lead to a Stage 3 Melanoma diagnosis. "But I don't even use sunbeds that often!" she protested to the nurse delivering the devastating news. The aggressive skin cancer diagnosis came as a profound shock, with medical professionals directly linking it to her tanning habits.
The Normalization of Sunbed Culture
McVeigh's journey into tanning began at just 16 years old, when her mother invited her along to a local tanning shop. "Everyone I knew did it – my mum, aunts, cousins and friends," she recalls. Despite UK laws prohibiting under-18s from using sunbeds, no one ever asked her age. That initial three-minute session left her feeling "like I was glowing," and she was quickly hooked.
Growing up in Belfast, a documented sunbed hotspot where 37% of adults reportedly use tanning equipment, McVeigh found herself immersed in a culture where tanning was "just the done thing." As a hairdresser after leaving school at 16, beauty routines including tanning became normalized among her social circle. "On the weekends, my friends and I would make a trip to our local salon. It was more of a social thing," she explains.
Dangerous Misinformation Campaigns
What makes McVeigh's story particularly alarming is the context of widespread misinformation about sunbed safety. A recent BBC investigation uncovered tanning companies spreading dangerous claims on social media, falsely suggesting that doctors prescribe sunbeds for conditions like seasonal depression and skin disorders.
"You see warnings on cigarette packets, and photos of people with lung cancer, but you never see a picture of a person with skin cancer in a tanning shop," McVeigh observes. The lack of visible warnings, combined with positive messaging from the industry, creates a perfect storm of misinformation that convinces young people sunbeds are harmless or even beneficial.
The Diagnosis That Changed Everything
After giving birth to her daughter Connie, McVeigh returned to tanning as "a wee treat and a bit of 'me time'" that fit easily around childcare. Then, in summer 2022, she noticed a black mole growing on her right cheek that behaved differently from her other moles – scabbing over, dropping off, then growing again.
Though initially unconcerned, her GP referred her to a dermatologist as a precaution. The mole was removed and biopsied in September 2022, with results taking six weeks. When the clinic insisted she come in person with someone for her results, McVeigh realized something was seriously wrong.
Understanding Melanoma Risks
Key symptoms of melanoma include:- New moles or changes to existing moles
- Larger, unevenly shaped growths
- Moles with mixed colors or changing appearance
- Swollen, sore, bleeding, crusty or itchy moles
McVeigh's diagnosis was initially classified as Stage 2 Melanoma, requiring surgery to remove a larger section of tissue from her face. During the February 2023 procedure, doctors also removed a lymph node from her neck to test for cancer spread. The waiting period for those results "felt like six years," she recalls.
The Harsh Reality of Cancer Treatment
When tests confirmed the melanoma had spread to her lymph nodes, upgrading it to Stage 3, McVeigh faced the terrifying reality of having cancer. "People think if they get a bad mole it will just be removed and that's that, but melanoma means cancer," she emphasizes.
She underwent a year of targeted immunotherapy treatment at Belfast City Hospital's Cancer Centre, with MRI and CT scans confirming the cancer hadn't spread further. Now cancer-free, she faces five years of monitoring scans every six months, plus regular mole-mapping sessions where every mole on her body is measured and photographed for tracking.
A Mother's Greatest Fear
"My biggest fear now is not being around to see Connie grow up," McVeigh confesses. Having witnessed other young people with similar diagnoses tragically pass away, she understands the very real stakes of skin cancer. Her experience has prompted family members and many friends to stop using sunbeds, though she notes some continue, believing "it won't happen to them."
The nurse who delivered her diagnosis compared her tanning pattern to binge drinking – avoiding sunbeds for months then using them two or three times weekly before holidays or events. "That's still a form of sunbed abuse," she was told.
A Warning to Others
McVeigh's story highlights multiple risk factors beyond just sunbed use. Childhood sunburns, like the severe blistering she experienced during a family holiday to Egypt at age 10, also contribute to skin cancer risk. "We always think our sunburns are just something we need to quickly recover from, and never consider the long-term effects," she notes.
If she could travel back in time, McVeigh would tell her younger self that "having a tan is just not worth it." Her message to others is stark: "Look at everything you have – and not be tempted to play Russian roulette with your life."
As tanning companies continue to spread dangerous misinformation targeting impressionable teenagers, McVeigh's experience serves as a powerful reminder that skin cancer needs to be taken more seriously – before more lives are irrevocably changed.
