Woman takes ‘skin cancer selfie’ hoping to save lives

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – A picture of a woman has gone viral. People are calling it a “skin cancer selfie.”

Tawny Willoughby, 27, posted a photo of her face to Facebook to warn people about the dangers of tanning and skin cancer.

After one of her cancer treatments she took a photo of her face, which shows bloody scabs and blisters.

“If anyone needs a little motivation to not lay in the tanning bed and sun here ya go! This is what skin cancer treatment can look like,” she wrote in a post along with the photo. “Wear sunscreen and get a spray tan. You only get one skin and you should take care of it.”

This selfie of Willoughby, posted last month to Facebook, has been shared almost 50,000 times.

According to CNN, she was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, which is a form of skin cancer, at the age of 21.

They said she has had basal cell carcinoma five times and squamous cell carcinoma once. She goes to the dermatologist every six to 12 months and usually has a cancerous piece of skin removed at each checkup.

She said she used a tanning bed four to five times a week in high school. She’s now a mother and said she hopes her story will save lives.

Do you use tanning beds? If you do, after hearing this mother’s story will you now stop?

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