An Australian woman says she has been diagnosed with three various kinds of skin cancer since 2009 “brutal” trip on TikTok.
“That is the true face of skin cancer” – Melissa Lewis, 48 declared in a viral clip as she showed off her shiny red blistered skin after undergoing photodynamic therapy with a carbon dioxide laser.
She revealed that her eyes finally opened after being swollen but still a bit blurry. She covered her nose so she could wear glasses.
“Everyone just has to guard their skin,” Lewis insisted. “A tan serves nobody. I wish I had known 30 years ago once we really didn’t know in regards to the safety of the sun.”
The mother-of-4 recalled spending hours within the sun as a child attempting to get a tan.
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“Take care everyone,” Lewis advised within the video, which has garnered 2.7 million views because it was released in February.
Lewis later published TikTok update to point out how her skin is doing 10 days after intensive treatment.
It was still barely pink, but clear of flaking.
“It has been a brutal week,” she captioned the clip.
“It’s still red, but oh my god. What a difference! exclaimed Lewis. “But guess what, it’s still there.”
She explained that “skin cancer still lurks below the surface” of her skin and that she still has “quite a few lesions” that require biopsies, but treatment is showing promising results.
Lewis says she’s going to have to undergo photodynamic carbon dioxide laser therapy once a yr for the remainder of her life since it is “the one method to stop skin cancer.”
“Protect yourselves. Be strong. Stay healthy,” she encouraged her viewers.
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The Post contacted Lewis for comment.
Redhead with glasses said the Day by day Mail her skin cancer never manifested itself through classic symptoms such as a “suspicious-looking mole” – as a substitute it appeared as flaky skin or an uneven complexion.
“I had a melanoma that did not appear to be anything in any respect. In reality, it took two dermatologists to diagnose it. They’d to take a look at my face under a microscope to try to seek out it,” she explained.
She claims that dermatologists found changes on her body between 2009 and 2018; she was later diagnosed with breast cancer, causing her to take a yr off from skin cancer treatment; and nearly died of sepsis after a botched gynecological procedure.
After a decade of traumatic conditions, it’s skin cancer that also haunts Lewis probably the most — prompting her to share her journey with others online.
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She said doctors discovered basal cell carcinoma on the side of her nose, arm and upper chest.
They reportedly also took a biopsy of a suspicious lesion on her brow, which turned out to be Bowen’s disease, an early type of skin cancer also known as squamous cell carcinoma.
To make matters worse, surgeons removed a piece of melanoma from her ear that needed to be reconstructed.
“It was a total shock because that word is synonymous with cancer – it’s the very best level because melanoma has reached the deepest layer of the skin and is about to invade,” she explained.
“I was very lucky since it was caught in phase 0 – it hasn’t invaded the bloodstream yet.”
She says annual photodynamic therapy treatments help her stay healthy.
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Daylight photodynamic therapy includes drugs called photosensitizers and light-weight that kills cancer cells.
Lewis likens the procedure to “scratching the surface of the skin like sandpaper” to exfoliate it. The skin is burned and peels off for several days.
“It has been a real journey and my confidence has shaken because your face is the way you present yourself to the world,” she admitted.
She just wishes she had taken higher care of her skin and used sunscreen as a teenager.
“Looking back now, if I had a moment to drag my younger self aside, I’d say, ‘Look, what you are doing now could also be fun, but you may pay for it in the longer term.’ And it could cost you your life,” Lewis said.