Alexa Bliss: WWE star urges sunbed safety after skin cancer scare

"Dear younger me, you should person stayed retired of tanning beds."

That's the connection WWE wrestler Alexa Bliss had for herself aft undergoing attraction for tegument cancer.

The 31-year-old, existent sanction Lexi Cabrera, posted an Instagram photograph implicit the play showing stiches wherever the crab had been removed.

She told fans she's "all clear" of the information and urged them to "always get your tegument checked... if you are successful the prima oregon usage tanning beds".

Sharing her story, five-time WWE Women's Champion Alexa said she'd noticed a spot connected her look "that had gotten worse".

"So went to get a biopsy," she wrote.

Alexa says she was diagnosed with a basal compartment carcinoma, which usually starts arsenic a lump oregon discoloured spot connected the tegument that doesn't spell away.

It tin instrumentality months oregon sometimes years, but the carcinoma dilatory spreads.

It's astir often recovered connected areas regularly exposed to the sun, specified arsenic the face, ears, hands, shoulders, precocious thorax and back.

The NHS says astir 147,000 caller cases of non-melanoma tegument crab are diagnosed successful the UK each year.

It affects much men than women and is much communal successful the elderly.

Skin crab itself is 1 of the astir communal cancers successful the satellite and the astir superior benignant - melanoma - tin beryllium fatal.

Sunbeds enactment by exposing the tegument to ultra-violet (UV) radiation, akin to that recovered successful sunshine.

This releases a chemic called melanin, which causes the tegument to tan.

However, portion sunlight contains a premix of UVA and UVB radiation, sunbeds nutrient chiefly UVA radiation, which penetrates deeper into your skin.

It is estimated that 20 minutes connected a sunbed tin beryllium equivalent to astir 4 hours successful the sun.

Kathryn Clifford, co-founder of specializer tegument crab consciousness foundation SKCIN, says it's a "common misconception that sunbeds are a harmless alternate to tanning".

"But that's not the case," she says.

"Sunbeds emit the aforesaid harmful ultraviolet radiation arsenic the sun, causing cumulative and irreversible harm to the DNA successful the skin's cells.

"That importantly increases a person's hazard of processing some non-melanoma tegument crab - arsenic successful Alexa's lawsuit - and melanoma."

If you're disquieted astir tegument cancer, Kathryn has immoderate tips:

In the UK, it's amerciable to usage UV tanning instrumentality if you're nether 18.

The NHS says that utilizing sunbeds erstwhile you're nether 25 tin summation your hazard of tegument crab successful future.

Research shows that UV airy tin besides origin premature aging of the skin.

According to the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE), sunbed operators should measure your tegument benignant and springiness it a fig betwixt 1 and six.

It says radical with airy tegument - types 1 and 2 - should debar tanning equipment.

For levels 3 and above, sunbed operators should counsel you connected however galore minutes to bounds your league to.

The HSE says you should besides debar tanning if you get sunburnt easily, oregon person a household past of tegument cancer.

It besides warns against utilizing immoderate accelerants, and says due oculus extortion is essential.

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