'Blocked Pore' Turns Out to Be Skin Cancer for 29-Year-Old Mom: 'I Had Such a Bad Feeling About It'

Lauren Smyth says she used tanning beds sporadically when she was younger, and that doctors believe they may have contributed to her cancer diagnosis

A young mom thought she had a clogged pore on her nose — but the spot turned out to be skin cancer.

Sydney, Australia, mom Lauren Smyth, 29, had a small spot on her nose, but since it wasn’t dark like a mole, she’d dismissed it as a “blocked pore,” she told South West News Service, via the New York Post.

After she saw a TikTok video where a woman described how a similar spot that turned out to be skin cancer, Smyth scheduled a skin check with a dermatologist.

While at her appointment, the doctor asked her if she’d ever used tanning beds.

Related: Tanning Bed Habit Leaves Illinois Woman with Hole in Her Face: 'It Became an Addiction'

When Smyth was younger, “If I was going on holiday or coming into summer I’d want a tan, I’d go maybe once a week,” she told SWNS.  “I never used them severely but I did use them — when you’re younger you never think anything like this will happen to you.”

She shares that her dermatologist told her, “if I had used tanning beds more than ten times before, however long ago, my risk of skin cancer would have been highly increased.”

As Verywell Health explains, “Just one session at the tanning salon before age 35 increases your risk of melanoma even if you don't get a sunburn.”

Every tanning bed session increases your risk of skin cancer, Verywell Health says: Squamous cell carcinoma risks go up by more than 65 percent and basal cell carcinoma risk by 30 percent.

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The doctor took a biopsy of the spot and said it was probably “harmless,” Smyth said. But she wasn't so sure. “I had such a bad feeling about it — I called every day asking when I would get my results.”

For the mom of Jesse, 3, and Marcie, 1, the results were as she feared: She had skin cancer. Her treatment options were topical chemotherapy or surgery.

The latter would involve excising a large portion of her skin away, so Smyth opted for the six-week chemotherapy treatment.

Related: Andy Roddick Had a Cancerous Tumor Removed from His Lip: 'Put Sunscreen on Your Kids'

“It’s had a big impact — I’m constantly worrying if the cancer will spread, and I’m constantly checking myself for more spots,” she tells the outlet.

“It keeps me up at night and I even dream about it.”

Now Smyth is hoping her medical journey will inspire others to avoid the tanning bed.

“Don’t use sun beds – you can get the same tan from a bottle in the shop,” she says. “And I want to share the importance of sun safety – if there was a cream to prevent breast cancer you’d use it.

“There is a cream to prevent skin cancer – but people don’t wear it daily. And they should.”

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