A 30-year-old flight attendant has opened up about being diagnosed with skin cancer after years of using sunbeds, explaining that what she first thought was eczema was actually a tumor that ultimately left a hole in her face.
Beth Brown, from Dorset in the UK, said on This Morning that she started using sunbeds at 22, spending 20 minutes at a time chasing what she viewed as ‘the perfect tan’. She also said sunscreen was something she hardly ever used.
In 2024, she spotted a small red area on the side of her face and assumed it was eczema, so she tried treating it with creams bought over the counter. Nothing worked.
“I basically had a tiny, tiny red patch that wasn’t really that noticeable,” she said “I just thought it was eczema or something.”
Brown said the patch would scab and sometimes bleed, but because it looked mostly the same for months, it was easy to dismiss.
By October 2025, she said the mark had become too noticeable to hide with makeup. After mentioning it to her boyfriend’s mother, who is a doctor, she was encouraged to have it examined.
She was later told she had basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the most common kind of skin cancer. According to Mayo Clinic, it develops in the basal cells, which are responsible for producing new skin cells as older ones die.
The condition often appears as a shiny or translucent bump and is most commonly found on areas that get frequent sun exposure, including the face and neck. BCCs are usually highly treatable, but they still need prompt removal, and surgery is the most common treatment.
While appearing on This Morning with Dr. Zoe Williams, Brown said the diagnosis came as a shock.
‘It’s scary,’ she said. “For a girl, anything on your face like that, it is scary. I didn’t realise it was going to be as big as it was – until the doctor held up the mirror, I was in shock.”
Dr. Williams explained that although BCC is usually highly treatable and does not normally spread, it still needs to be removed promptly. She also said any skin lesion that has not healed within four weeks should be assessed by a doctor.
Brown underwent surgery in May to remove the tumor. She decided against having a skin graft and instead chose to let the wound heal from the inside out, saying she does not regret that choice even though the process took longer.
“I hadn’t known how intense the healing process would be,” she said, adding that she had expected to return to work within a day but instead needed a month off, along with weekly hospital visits to have the wound redressed.
The World Health Organization classifies sunbeds as Group 1 carcinogens, putting them in the same risk category as tobacco. Dr. Williams said on the program that any tan, whether it comes from the sun or a sunbed, is actually a sign of skin damage rather than protection. In the UK, commercial sunbed use is already illegal for under-18s, and the government has recently said it is consulting on tougher age checks and other measures to strengthen enforcement.
Even so, only three countries have fully banned commercial suntanning booths: Australia, Brazil, and Iran.
Dr Williams also challenged the idea that getting a ‘base tan’ can protect against sunburn on holiday, saying there is only ‘a thread of truth’ in that belief because tanning itself is evidence of UV damage.
After Brown received her diagnosis, her mother also went for a skin check and was found to have BCC too.
Brown said she has now completely stopped using sunbeds and wears factor 50 sunscreen every day.
“I’m a sunshine baby at heart, but I make sure to look after my skin,” she said, encouraging other young women not to make the same mistake. “It could happen to you.”