Woman posts photos of skin cancer surgery scars with warning to would-be tanners

(WTXF) - A woman who has spent more than $27,000 getting skin cancer cells removed has released photos warning others of the dangers of tanning.

Most recent photo of me prior to surgery.

The photos show her before and after she got surgery. The Daily Mail reports that she had 23 spots of skin cancer removed from her face, chest, arms, and legs.

49-year-old Judy Cloud decided to share the photos of her most recent operation on her Facebook to show the results of staying in the sun too long, using tanning beds, and forgoing sunscreen.

6 hours post surgery....back home, ready for bed, with lots of painkillers in me.

SELF reports that Cloud spent a lot of time in the sun as a child and in her 20s. According to the magazine, she visited tanning salons about four times a year.

The publication reports that though Cloud's family had a history of cancer, she never thought that she was at risk.

Cloud was first diagnosed with skin cancer in 1995 when she went to get a scab checked out, the Daily Mail reports. She was in her late 20s.

Since then, Cloud has had four surgeries to remove basal cell carcinoma spots. It is the most common form of skin cancer, but also the least dangerous since it rarely spreads, according to the Daily Mail.

However, Cloud's latest surgery, which she underwent in September, was her most invasive to date, the Daily Mail reports.

3 days post op. The laser wounds are getting pus and thick scabs, bruising around eye is starting.

Cloud had 23 cancer spots removed including one that involved cutting into a muscle in her mouth and moving a nerve in her head. The surgery cost $26,845.87.

Since then, Cloud has shared the results of her surgery on her Facebook page in an album entitled "Skin Cancer."

Along with the photos, she posted a message to those who like to tan: "I hear too many people say that they feel better about how they look after they go to a tanning bed or after they bake in the sun for hours on end.

"Look at the pictures. This could be you. Anyone can get skin cancer, even people who have darker skin tones.

"It is a misconception that only fair-skinned people can get skin cancer. Skin cancer doesn't discriminate."

She also said that the surgery left her "lying on a couch during the day" with her legs elevated.

"I worried about blood clots and I worried about getting pneumonia, both of which could happen post-surgery with immobility.

This is what I had to do for two weeks. All day, all night. The leg wraps had to stay on the entire time.

"I couldn't take a real shower for two weeks because my lower legs were wrapped and I couldn't get the wraps wet."

Cloud also wrote that four weeks post-surgery, she couldn't open her mouth all the way and still could not eat crunchy or chewy foods.

She also wrote that the wounds on her arm, chest, shoulder, and legs took a while to heal and she now has a 3" scar and 2-1/2" scar on her chest, along with numerous other scars from lasers.

Surgery wounds on chest.....5 days post op.

"Does that sound worth it for you to keep going to a tanning bed?"

Cloud concluded the post with: "I'm really hoping the thought of going to a tanning bed no longer sounds quite so attractive to you."