Man, 24, Who Called Himself a ‘Tanning Addict’ Believed Bump on His Back Was a Bug Bite, Turns Out It Was Skin Cancer Spreading to His Groin

Protecting Yourself From Harmful Sun Rays and Skin Cancer

• A man who started using tanning beds weekly at age 16 found himself with a spot on his back that was itchy, sore to touch, and would bleed. A biopsy revealed it was stage 3 melanoma, a potentially dangerous form of skin cancer because of its ability to spread.
• In melanoma, the cells change in a way that allows them to spread to other organs, making it a severe type of skin cancer that requires quick attention and treatment. In early-stage diseases, surgery can be curative.
• Experts recommend checking your body for unusual spots or moles at least once a month. If you find any new spots or changes in size or color, you must see a doctor immediately.
• Tanning beds emit UV rays, increasing your risk of developing skin cancer. Our experts recommend using safer alternatives, like spray tans or sunless tanning lotions, to achieve a bronze look.

A 24-year-old man who was obsessed with tanning beds is cautioning other young people who are endangering themselves with the risk of skin cancer while seeking that golden brown skin complexion. Jak Howell attributes his tanning to a spot on his back that would hurt and bleed after touching it. The suspicious spot turned out to be advanced skin cancer that was so stubbornly resistant doctors told him that he had only a few months to live if treatment efforts continued to fail. Howell considered himself a “tanning addict” who started tanning regularly at 16. "The first sunbed I ever went in, there wasn't even a receptionist. You just put your money in the machine, and you just went straight in,” Howell told BBC News. However, when he noticed a spot on his back that was sore to touch, he first suspected it was a bug bite, not drawing any connection to his dangerous tanning habits. “It got super itchy and uncomfortable. I thought it was an insect bite, but then it started to bleed, and I noticed I was really fatigued and feeling quite down,” Howell told U.K.-based news outlet Birmingham Live. After seeing a doctor, Howell learned the spot was stage 3 melanoma , a type of skin cancer. More concerning, the cancer had spread to his groin.

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‘It Was Just Devastating’

In melanoma, the cells change in a way that allows them to spread to other organs, making it a severe type of skin cancer that requires quick attention and treatment. In early-stage diseases, surgery can be curative. “That’s when the real fear kicked in and overall shock. It’s not a feeling I’ll ever be able to describe. It was just devastating,” Howell said. His treatment turned out to be a whirlwind in itself because he tried several therapies, only for most of them to fail initially. Radiotherapy, which involves aiming high-energy beams at cancer cells to kill them, also didn’t work.

Immunotherapy Offered Hope

Howell's last hope was immunotherapy , which involves reengineering your immune cells to target the cancer cells from within to kill them. His doctors told him he would have about a year left to live if immunotherapy also failed. WATCH: How Immunotherapy Helps Fight Melanoma Immunotherapy drugs like (generic name: pembrolizumab) (brand name: Keytruda) and (generic name: nivolumab) (brand name: Opdivo) can help some people with melanoma cancer live longer. Combining immunotherapy drugs might also extend survival. However, your doctor can best determine which treatment is right for you. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a vaccine for people whose melanoma has spread and can't be removed with surgery. Talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) is a modified herpes virus that kills cancer cells when doctors inject it directly into the cancer. Howell says undergoing treatment was one of the hardest parts of his cancer journey. “Dealing with the trauma and the damage it [cancer treatment] has done to my body eats away at me every day,” Howell explained. Howell has used his popular TikTok channel to help spread awareness about the dangers of tanning beds (sunbeds) and the risk of skin cancer. “From someone who was young and naïve, I now have to live the rest of my life in a damaged body. I didn’t believe cancer would happen to me, but it did,” Howell said.

Dangers of Tanning Beds

According to the FDA, indoor tanning beds emit a type of UV ray, and UV exposure can increase the risk of skin cancer. (The sun also emits UV rays.) The National Center for Biotechnology Information published a 2011 study by Yale Cancer Center researchers examining indoor tanning and the risk of early-onset basal cell carcinoma. The study concluded that tanning beds were a "strong risk factor." WATCH: Top 5 Ways to Help Prevent Skin Cancer A study published recently in Cancer , a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, suggests that banning tanning beds among minors would prevent thousands of cases of melanoma in adolescents, along with millions of dollars in healthcare costs. "Studies have shown that exposure to tanning beds increases the risk of skin cancer and ocular cancer," says Dr. Lynn A. Cornelius , chief of the Division of Dermatology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "It also induces changes that lead to premature aging of the skin. There is no 'safe' tanning bed." Dr. Cornelius recommends spray tans and sunless lotions for safer alternatives to tanning beds. While "one should take precautions not to inhale the product when getting a spray tan,” she said, “skin allergic reactions are rare."