Woman’s tanning bed habit left her with a ‘hole in her face’

Beth Brown was desperate to stay tanned (Picture: Bethany Brown / SWNS) Since the age of 22, Beth Brown, 30, refused to wear SPF and would use sunbeds for 20 minutes at a time, hoping for the perfect tan. The flight attendant from Weymouth, Dorset, wanted to be bronzed as she jetted off to sun-soaked destinations for work, spending plenty of time soaking up rays on the beach or by the pool. But after six years of using sunbeds every week, Beth developed a small red patch on her face in 2024, which she mistook for a bit of eczema. She’d actuallyt developed basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the most common type of skin cancer, affecting 75,000 people each year in the UK. It occurs in the basal cell, which produces new skin cells when old cells die. It usually appears as a light pink or red bump on the skin. Her diagnosis and treatment left her with a ‘hole in her face’ after a six-month wait to be seen. Ask Metro Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications. ‘When I was diagnosed with BCC, I felt so freaked out and also really stupid,’ Beth says. ‘I thought, “Have I done this to myself?”. Bethany left the procedure with a hole in the side of her head where the cancer had been (Picture: Bethany Brown / SWNS) ‘My mum never used sun cream, her generation were always frying in the sun. I never really used it either, as it’s what I’d grown up with. ‘It scares me now, but it was just the norm.’ It all started when Beth noticed a red patch on the side of her head that would go flaky and scab over. ‘I basically had a tiny, tiny red patch that wasn’t really that noticeable,’ she explains. ‘I just thought it was eczema or something, I don’t know.’ She’d had eczema as a child, so Beth assumed this was the same thing, although applying E45 and Sudocrem to the area did little to soothe the scab. Beth’s red patch was almost unnoticeable to start with (Picture: Bethany Brown / SWNS) ‘Over time, it got bigger, and it would scab over and get a bit flaky and crusty, but most of the time it was flat,’ Beth adds. By October 2025, Beth was no longer able to cover up the patch with makeup. ‘It was just there, and I wouldn’t always notice it, but when I’d do my makeup – I don’t tend to wear foundation – I would see it,’ she explains. ‘It must have got a little more scabbier than normal or it bled and I thought “this can’t be right” or “why isn’t this cream working” and even if it is, at least go to the doctor and get the right cream for it.’ The patch grew and began to scab a little (Picture: Bethany Brown / SWNS) Concerned, she spoke to her boyfriend’s mum, a GP, and was told that she could have basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the most common type of skin cancer. ‘If it wasn’t for her, I might never have gone to the doctors,’ she says. Beth booked an appointment, and after tests, was diagnosed with BCC. ‘I was so shocked, I hadn’t realised the extent of what could happen from not wearing sun cream and using sun beds,’ Beth admits. Following her diagnosis, Beth’s mum decided to go for a check-up as well and was also diagnosed with BCC. After a six-month wait for her appointment to get the tumour removed, and being ‘so scared’ it would grow while she was waiting, Beth had the procedure to remove the tumour on May 17. She opted to leave her wound open, rather than having a skin graft. ‘I hadn’t known how intense the healing process would be,’ Beth says. ‘I’d told my work I’d be back the next day as I thought I’d just have a little stitch, but I walked out with a hole in my face.’ Beth leaving her procedure to have the cancer removed with a plaster on her face (Picture: Bethany Brown / SWNS) Beth took a month off work to heal and went for weekly hospital appointments so her wound could be redressed. Her skin is now fully healed but remains sensitive. Since her diagnosis, Beth has stopped using sun beds and now prioritises going in the shade and wearing factor 50. ‘I’m a sunshine baby at heart, but I make sure to look after my skin,’ she says. ‘I wear SPF every day now, I can’t imagine going outside without putting it on my face. ‘Being outside and getting vitamin D is so important, but just make sure you don’t fry. Sit in the shade, wear sun cream, wear a hat.’ Beth is now raising awareness for others who don’t use SPF (Picture: Bethany Brown / SWNS) Beth feels like some girls don’t realise they can still tan while wearing sun cream, and wants to warn others from making the same mistake she did. ‘I was very naïve, I thought it would never happen to me,’ she admits. ‘I definitely regret using sun beds now. ‘On social media, being tanned is portrayed as being cool, but it’s quite sad really, as actually you are damaging your skin. 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