Woman, 26, had her entire lower eyelid removed after mistaking deadly cancer for blocked pore

A young woman who mistook skin cancer for a 'blocked pore' had to have her whole lower eyelid removed, after receiving a diagnosis on the spot.

Jessica Zbinden-Webster was just 26 when she received the diagnosis, and now is now campaigning to scrap the tax on SPF products in the UK.

Joining hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley on ITV's This Morning, on the May 19 episode, Jessica revealed that she had always had problems with her skin. Therefore, she didn't panic when she saw the blemish - which later turned to a bump.

However, alarm bells began to ring when Jessica noticed her bump was badly bleeding in the office one day. Jessica booked in a doctors appointment the next day, and was immediately given a skin cancer diagnosis on the spot.

"You've got skin cancer, and we need to urgently refer you for treatment," she was told.

Jessica had her entire lower eyelid removed (YouTube/This Morning)

Jessica's skin cancer was on her lower eyelid, which is an extremely sensitive area. Due to this, doctors had to remove the woman's lower eyelid with a scalpel, while she was awake.

"They took away the skin that was affected by the tumor, and they also took a margin of skin around it, just to be super sure that the cancer was gone," she told the ITV hosts.

The next day, Jessica went through skin graft surgery, in which skin was taken from her lower arm to cover the hole the tumor had left.

After a hard few months of recovery, Jessica was on the mend, although she revealed her eye sight had been affected due to the fact the skin graft contracted, dragging her eye down slightly.

Jessica went through a number of laser surgeries, and said it had taken four years to get her eye looking like what it does now.

The 26-year-old was shocked with her diagnosis, as she 'didn't fit any of the stereotypes' for skin cancer, and didn't use sun beds.

A doctor recommends applying 6-8 teaspoons of suncreen, and reapplying every 2 hours

During her treatment, Jessica was told by doctors that she should be wearing high factor sunscreen everyday - as should everyone.

While buying SPF regularly, Jessica noticed how expensive the products were, before realizing that sunscreen was taxed as a cosmetic product in the UK. In the UK, the standard tax rate on most goods is 20%.

"How do people afford to stay safe in the sun?" she questioned. Despite having skin cancer, Jessica doesn't qualify for free sunscreen on prescription.

In response, the government told This Morning: "High factor sunscreen is available on the NHS prescription list for certain conditions and provided VAT free when dispensed by a pharamacist to these patients."

According to the CDC, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States.

Dr Sarah, who joined Jessica on the show warned that everyone needed to be protecting themselves from the sun, and wearing SPF daily.

For the average body, the doctor recommends applying around '6 to 8 tea spoons'. She advises that one tea spoon is two strips of sunscreen on two fingers. She also advises reapplying it every 2 hours, more if you're sweating or swimming.

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