Justine's story - video transcript

Justine Sheils - Liverpool

My sunbeds habit started when I was fifteen, when I was obsessed with being brown and having a tan. I'd go on my two weeks holiday and then I'd come home and keep my tan up for another 3 months and then go on another holiday.

[Footage of Justine on holiday]

It was a continual cycle, until I was diagnosed with skin cancer.

Malignant melanoma is a particularly serious form of cancer. People's perceptions of skin cancer are it’s a spot and it can be removed, but it isn’t.

First of all it was a bump, just like a little wart. It would crust, it would puss, and it would then dry up. As time went on it was going blacker and blacker and blacker.

I was never ever going to get skin cancer; it wasn't going to happen to me, it doesn't happen to me. Thankfully they were able to remove it in one scoop. And that’s basically what it's like, an ice cream scoop in the middle of my chest where they had to take it out.

Having had the one on my chest removed, I then went on to have one on my back removed a couple of weeks later. And then in the February of the following year, I found a little mark in my head. Although it was completely different to the one on my chest and the one on my back it was something that hadn't been there and I have to say that my world did collapse then. This was my head and I knew it wasn’t going to be straight forward.

Obviously because you just think it’s a mark on your skin, "I won’t go to the doctors with that". Get anything checked out.

[Footage of Justine checking her skin in the mirror]

Anything that doesn't look like it used to look, anything that all of a sudden appears.

Statistics have shown that using sunbeds before the age of 35 increases the chances of getting malignant melanoma by 75% and that's actually quite a shocking statistic.

Years ago I'd just lie there and bake - wouldn't even dream of doing it now.

Finding skin cancer early saves lives

Find out more about the signs of skin cancer and how to reduce your risk - www.sunsmart.org.uk (The SunSmart campaign is funded by the UK Health Departments)