(Lauren Smyth via SWNS) By Amy Reast via SWNS A mom mistook cancer on her face for a "blocked pore" - and only went to get it tested after watching a TikTok warning about skin cancer. Lauren Smyth, 29, used sunbeds in her early twenties but hadn't touched them in years. So she didn't think much of a tiny pimple which developed on the top of her nose.
Dermatologists had even tried to unclog the 'blocked pore' during facials. But the mom-of-two from Peakhurst, Sydney, Australia, was scrolling through TikTok last month when a video made her stop. It shows a young woman diagnosed with aggressive skin cancer after finding a spot just like Lauren's.
A biopsy revealed the stay-at-home mom had squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. While slow growing, she was informed the cancer would spread - and is now on a course of topical chemotherapy. Lauren Smyth with partner Ashley Mayall and daughter Marcie.
(Lauren Smyth via SWNS) She wants to warn others about the importance of sun safety - and encourage people to get any suspicious spots checked out. Lauren, mom to Jesse, three, and Marcie, one, said: "Sunbeds aren't worth your life - I haven't touched one in years but once the damage is done, it's done." Lauren said she had never been a serial sunbed user, but used to frequent the tanning salon in the summer in her early twenties.
She said: "If I was going on holiday or coming into summer I'd want a tan, I'd go maybe once a week. "I never used them severely but I did use them - .
