A self-described “diehard” tanner is speaking out about the dangers of forming such a habit after she was left with a hole in her nose and staples in her face when she developed skin cancer.
When Rebekah Rupp from Morrison, Oklahoma, was in her teens and twenties, she loved the confidence that being tanned gave her and used tanning beds anywhere up to six times a week to achieve a healthy glow, despite people warning her of the dangers.
Now the 41-year-old admits she rarely took care of her face and just used wipes and pads to cleanse her skin. It wasn’t until five years ago when Rebekah started to work for a skincare company to earn some extra money that she discovered the importance of using an SPF.
In August 2018, Rebekah first notice that a dark spot had appeared on her cheek, so she went to her dermatologist on December 20, to get it checked out. Whilst there, the dermatologist noticed a white spot, which Rebekah had assumed was innocent, on the tip of her nose which he removed immediately and sent off for testing.
“I had a dark spot appear on my cheek, so I made an appointment with my dermatologist to have it looked at,” said Rebekah.
Rebekah was told that she had basal cell carcinoma skin cancer and she underwent Mohs surgery on June 10, 2019, to remove the affected layers of skin.
The operation left her with a gaping hole in her nose which was repaired using a surgical technique known as a forehead flap. It involves taking skin from the forehead with its own blood supply and attaching it to the nose to regenerate missing skin
The mother-of-two said:
“I was a die-hard tanning bed tanner. In my earlier years, I tanned at least five to six times a week. I was told by others it was bad for me, but until it happened to me – I never listened.”
“I loved the way tanning made me feel. It relaxed me, it made me feel pretty, and it gave me a glow that I loved. In high school and in college, I never took care of my face. As soon as I went in for the dark spot, the dermatologist spotted a white looking mole on the tip of my nose.”
“He asked me how long I had it, it had only been there for about two months or so, I thought it was just a pimple that wouldn’t go away. He acted very concerned about the way it looked, and immediately removed it to send it off for results. I was very scared. Hearing the word cancer hurts. It’s the worst feeling in the world, because in the back of your mind you are thinking death.”
Since her surgery and skin cancer battle, Rebekah takes extra care of her skin, wears sunscreen every day without fail, and wears a hat when she’s in the sun. She also makes sure her children are well-protected and always have sunscreen in their bags.