Jen Thomas
One mom on TikTok is urging people to be careful with their skin, and to double check an unusual marks or moles.
The 33-year-old single mom has been documenting her journey with skin cancer on TikTok, and is trying to raise awareness about the condition.
Rachel shared a PSA video on the social media platform, about how what seemed like a tiny mosquito bite turned out to be much worse.
It's easy to ignore tiny imperfections, or like Rachel did, assume they're something more innocent like a bug bite.
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But Rachel is urging people to take notice of their bodies, be aware of any changes, and to take it seriously if something doesn't look right.
It all started as a small pink spot on her forehead, that one day started bleeding.
"It was small, but it was painful," said Rachel, who went to see a doctor as she was concerned.
Unfortunately, as is often the case, the doctor dismissed her worries and said it was most likely a mosquito bite that had been itchy, so she scratched it open.
She claims her doctor even said she seemed to be too young for skin cancer.
Rachel says she did use tanning beds occasionally, and also had sunburn when she was a child.
Fortunately, the determined mom decided to seek a second opinion.
She was sent for a biopsy, which revealed it was actually basal cell carcinoma.
Basal cell produce new skin cells, and the cancer forms here.
Following her diagnosis, Rachel had to undergo six weeks of painful treatment, and she said it left her with a 'burning hole on her forehead'.
Unsurprisingly, it has had an impact on Rachel's mental health: “I think, mentally, it’s taking a toll, just having this on my forehead.
"Physically, it hurts and everything.”
As summer arrives, Rachel wanted to stress the importance of wearing SPF and protecting your skin.
“I really think that people should get the shock value of how horrible this looks, so that it scares them into being careful with the sun,” she said.
Rachel also says with many beauty products now containing SPF as standard, she says there's 'no excuse right now to lay out and get burned'.
She says her cancer was caught early, so she feels really 'lucky'.
“I hope this gruesome, gruesome area on my forehead is going to create some shock value so people are more careful in the sun.”
Basal cell carcinomas tend to appear on parts of the body which receive a lot of sun exposure, like on your face and neck, or even on your scalp or arms.
However, they can also appear anywhere else on the body too, so it's worth keeping an eye out for them, as well as checking your nails for any new dark streaks.
They’re most likely to show up on sun-exposed areas like the face, neck, arms and scalp — but they can develop anywhere on the body.
Other signs to be aware of are changes to any existing moles, if they grow bigger, change shape or change colour, it is worth getting them looked at.
Similarly, if a mole or new growth starts bleeding, or refuses to heal, that can also be a sign of skin cancer.
Don't forget that SPF this summer.