- Caroline Madden, 58, from Yorkshire urged people 'don't' use sun beds
- READ MORE: More than a quarter of Brits still regularly use sunbeds despite long-known risks of skin cancer, new study reveals
A woman suffering with melanoma has issued an urgent warning begging people to take 'seriously' the risks of using sunbeds.
Caroline Madden, 58, from Welton, East Yorkshire appeared, on ITV's This Morning to warn of the potentially fatal dangers that come with using indoor tanning.
During Thursday's show, presenters Cat Deeley and Ben Shepard said a recent poll had revealed a quarter of Brits admit to still using sunbeds while as many as two in five of us currently unaware of the life threatening risks.
Caroline was 18-years-old when she used a sunbed for the first time at her local squash club. She went on to use the tanning beds habitually for around ten years.
'I used it because I felt better with a tan,' she admitted.
Pictured: Caroline Madden, 58, from Welton, East Yorkshire appeared, on ITV 's This Morning to warn of the potentially fatal dangers that come with sun bed use
'You would get a token and go on one for about half an hour and maybe have a sleep.'
Caroline has very pale skin and is naturally blonde, which she said made it more difficult achieve a glow using make-up or artificial tanning products.
'Make-up in those days was horrible in those days, it was like glue and there wasn't any spray tans or tinted moisturisers, so (sunbeds) were the only way to tan,' she recalled.
Dermatologist, Dr Emma Wedgeworth also appeared on the show to emphaise the dangers posed by using tanning beds which emit UV rays which are much more 'intense' than those coming from sunlight.
'The way its hits the skin is more intense than the average sunlight,' she explained. 'A couple of minutes on a sun bed is the same as a few hours in the Mediterranean'
Caroline first suspected there might be a problem in 2009 when her chiropodist noticed a large new mole on her foot.
After then being encouraged by her GP to get the mole checked in hospital, Caroline was shocked when she was told she needed a piece of her skin removed.
A later test revealed a diagnosis of stage three melanoma and Caroline headed back to the hospital to have a hole 'the size of a tennis ball' removed from her foot.
Presenters of the show, Ben Shepard (left) and Cat Deeley (right) told viewers of a recent polling which had revealed a quarter of Brits still use tanning beds
Caroline, pictured, was diagnosed in 2009 after she noticed a new mole on her foot which turned out to be melanoma
The melanoma had travelled up her body, meaning Caroline was also forced to undergo surgery to remove the lymph nodes in her groin.
She then received chemotherapy successfully and was signed off in early 2018. However, sadly just months after being given a bill of good health, she received the news that the cancer had come back and was in her pelvis and groin.
When presenter Ben, asked what advice she would give to people who are considering using then, she urged 'Don't!'
'We didn't know the risks in those days, it was before the internet, we had no idea,' she insisted.
'I think as long as sunbeds exist, people will use them,' she added.
'I was blissfully unaware of anything to do with melanoma until I got it. People don't take it seriously.
Also appearing on the show was, Dr Emma Wedgeworth, who explained how dangerous sun beds in particular can be for developing skin cancer
'They say it's just skin cancer but it's one of the most deadly cancers. You can't get rid of melanoma.'
Gary Lipman, chairman of The Sunbed Association told the program that sunbeds are now well regulated in the UK.
They said that staff are trained to screen potential customers to assess their risk of developing skin cancer.
Gary went on to say he 'wished' that sun tanning outdoors 'when most sun burning occurs' was as well regulated.
Dr Emma Wedgeworth explained: 'Sun beds are really damaging for our skin and we know that when we use them, you do increase your risk of melanoma, other types of skin cancers and ageing.'
'If you're stimulating your melanocytes, the pigment producing cells enough to produce a tan and you're doing that repeatedly, that is going to put you at risk,
'It's a bit like smoking; it's better to have two cigarettes a day rather than 20 but in an ideal world, we wouldn't smoke at all and we wouldn't use indoor sun tanning.'
