Judy Cloud worshipped the sun.
Growing up, she only ever used a low SPF and would use a tanning bed four times a year to ‘top up’ her colour before a holiday.
According to an interview with Self, the mother of two has had four surgeries to remove skin cancer, having never thought she’d fall victim to the disease.
Judy recalls how she began her battle with skin cancer in 1995 to have a scab checked out.
Cloud spoke about how her latest surgery in September lasted three hours and was the most invasive to date.
Doctors removed 23 spots of skin cancer from her face, chest, arms, and legs, as well as cutting into a muscle in her mouth and move a nerve in her head to remove the cancer.
According to Self:
‘She couldn’t move or eat whole foods for two weeks after the surgery, and now, five months later, she still hasn’t regained feeling in her left cheek or from her forehead up to her scalp.’
Now Judy wants to create awareness of the condition, posting before and after photos of her treatment.
In a Facebook post, she writes:
‘This Is Skin Cancer. This is the result of using tanning beds when I was younger. This is the result of having numerous sunburns as a child and teen, and not being religious about applying sunscreen, and staying out in the sun far too long as a teen and into my 20’s and even early 30’s. On September 2, I had my fourth surgery to remove cancerous spots. The skin cancer keeps coming back. This was the most invasive skin cancer surgery I’ve had yet. I had a three-hour surgery, and I was under general anesthesia. I spent two hours in recovery. I had 23 places surgically removed in one day – ten by excision (meaning I had ten places on me that had stitches) and thirteen by laser. I had to take two weeks off work because I was to spend the two weeks following surgery immobile, lying on a couch during the day with my legs elevated and lying in bed at night with my legs elevated. I worried about blood clots and I worried about getting pneumonia, both of which could happen post-surgery with immobility. I couldn’t take a real shower for two weeks because my lower legs were wrapped and I couldn’t get the wraps wet.
She continues:
‘Skin cancer doesn’t discriminate. I have scars from previous surgeries, but the scars from this surgery are worse than my previous scars. The cancer was deeper, the incisions were longer. The wounds on my face are healing, but what you can’t tell from the pictures is that the scar on my mouth is from a cut that had to go into the muscle above my mouth because the cancer was into the muscle. I had to be on a soft-foods only diet for two weeks after surgery because I was supposed to keep chewing to a minimum. Four weeks post-surgery, I still can’t open my mouth all the way. I still can’t eat extremely chewy or crunchy foods. The area above my mouth is still numb, which causes a very weird sensation when I’m trying to drink from a cup. I have to try to aim for the right side of my mouth when drinking so I don’t dribble liquid while trying to drink. My doctor said the numbness could take several months to go away.
‘What the pictures also don’t show is the numbness I now have on my forehead and scalp. Notice the lovely 2-1/2” scar on my forehead? From that point to approximately two inches up my scalp, I have no feeling. I can’t feel that area when I’m washing my hair or brushing my hair. My doctor said that a nerve was in the middle of the cancer so he had to move the nerve. He also said my numbness could be permanent, and if it’s not permanent, it could take a very long time before I get feeling in that area again.
‘The face seems to be the fastest area to heal. The wounds on my arm, chest, shoulder, and legs are taking much longer to heal. I now have a 3” scar and a 2-1/2” scar on my chest, along with several laser scars. Does that sound worth it for you to keep going to a tanning bed? The removal of the skin cancer on my legs left indentations. The indentations won’t go away, although the scars will fade in time. Keep in mind that I went to a very skilled, very good plastic surgeon for removal of my skin cancer. Many times, a dermatologist will whack off the area, and believe me, a dermatologist doesn’t typically take quite the care that a plastic surgeon does – even on the face.
‘Total billed for my outpatient procedure? $26,845.87. I know tanning salons advertise tanning packages that are cheap. Does a surgery to correct what the tanning bed does to you still make the tanning special sound cheap?
‘I’m really hoping the thought of going to a tanning bed no longer sounds quite so attractive to you.’
Lead Image: Self/ Judy Cloud Facebook
