A Former 'Tan-oholic' Teen Now In the 40'S Had Over 86 Skin Cancer Surgeries Shares Her Experience To Raise Awareness

By Sughra Hafeez in Health and Fitness On 3rd June 2018
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This is Lisa's story

Lisa Pace, 42, is a successful basketball coach, licensed massage therapist, certified personal trainer, certified sports nutrition specialist, and founder of Change a Life.

Tanning addiction

Lisa Pace was once a teenager with pale skin and freckles. Lisa started tanning at a local salon every day, believing she looked better when she was bronzed. By college, tanning had become an everyday habit. And the more compliments she received, the deeper into her addiction she fell.

She said: "I started tanning every day, or every other day, It was addictive. People would say, 'You look so good, you look tan,' and it just encouraged me."

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Alarming occurrences

As the years went on, however, alarming occurrences started to change her perspective. During an appointment, the doctor made a biopsy of a few spots on her leg. A few days later, he called Lisa to tell it was a melanoma. Lisa was diagnosed with her first case of skin cancer in 2000 when she was in her early twenties.

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According to the American Academy of Dermatology:

"Using a tanning bed before the age of 35 increases your risk of developing melanoma by nearly 60 percent."

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Lisa told TODAY:

"It was gut-wrenching and heartbreaking, This whole time I had been worried about how I looked, and now I have a huge scar on my face."

Lisa added:

"I would take a shower and look at my arms and legs or do skin checks and see all of these new spots, they were usually red places with abnormal borders or white spots, about the size of a pencil eraser. "

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Skin-cancer surgeries

Now Lisa realized the dangers of her long-term hobby. Lisa finally vowed to quit tanning, but she says that by the time she was 30, she'd had 50 skin-cancer surgeries. Now, at age 42, she's had dozens of surgeries — 86 in fact — to remove a variety of cancerous spots from her skin.

Raise awareness

She became full of regret as she faced her new reality. She wants to raise awareness of the skin care importance. She advises young people to wear sunscreen and protective clothing.

Watch her video here: