While doctors have warned people for years about the dangers of tanning beds and how closely related they are to major skin illnesses, they're still fairly common all over the world as there's not much awareness on the subject - but these skin cancer selfies could change everything.
A woman who is currently undergoing treatment for the potentially deadly illness has shared her story on social media, even going so far as posting skin cancer selfies as a warning about the effect tanning beds had on her skin after using them for years, sending the most powerful message on the subject.
According to CBC, the skin cancer selfies belong to 27 year-old nurse and new mom, Tawny Willoughby, who posted a picture of herself on Facebook that has gone viral over her use of tanning beds since she was in her teens, after which she ended up with the illness.
Fox News reports that, in high school, Willoughby (and many of her friends at the time) had her own personal tanning bed at home, which she used and abused often enough to end up being diagnosed with the illness when she was barely 21, prompting her to post her skin cancer selfies now as a warning sign for those who have similar routines.
"If anyone needs a little motivation to not lay in the tanning bed and sun here ya go!" Willoughby captioned her skin cancer selfies. "This is what skin cancer treatment can look like. Wear sunscreen and get a spray tan. You only get one skin and you should take care of it. Learn from other people's mistakes. Don't let tanning prevent you from seeing your children grow up. That's my biggest fear now that I have a two year old little boy of my own."
The World Health Organization has reported that tanning devices such as beds are among the strongest cancer-causing types of radiation in the world, and those who use these before the age of 30 increase their risk of melanoma by 75 percent.
Those who enjoy the overuse of tanning beds could perhaps be stirred off them through the skin cancer selfies.
