A mother shared a chilling photo of her scalp to warn others about the dangers of sunbathing and sun exposure.
Mary Bentley said that since her teenage years she has used a tanning bed and that she often sunbathes.
She stopped chasing tans years ago, but the 34-year-old said the damage was already done.
During her skin check last month, the dermatologist noticed a flat her mark in the middle of her scalp.
A biopsy revealed that Mary had melanoma and the surgeon had to cut her scalp while she was still awake. rice field.
The stay-at-home mother had a large hole in it, exposing her skull.
Mary, a stay-at-home mom, said she wouldn't have noticed the scars if she hadn't had a dermatologist check her scalp.
Mary, who lives in Dallas, Texas Texas, USA, had been paying attention to her moles to see if they were changing, but her scalp Said it hasn't changed.
"She biopsied it, and about a week later it came back to melanoma.
" They paralyzed it and removed it. If you cut your scalp while you are awake, you will hear the sound of the scissors cutting and cutting your scalp.
"He cut off the first large piece, and one of the medical assistants said, 'Oh, I've never seen a skull like this.' I had to wait four hours to put it on and test a layer of skin to see if everything was fine," she said.
But Mary had to go back once more to cut more.
"It was at least the size of a coin, but the actual cutout was much larger to make sure we got everything," she added. Melanoma is 4.2cm x 2.6cm - 2 pound coin.
l Bronze skin is worthless, baked in the sun or tanned in bed. Not worth it. Mary Bentley
On July 21 she underwent surgery at her UT Southwestern Medical Center. Doctors resected a larger area of 4.5cm x 3.1cm.
Her scalp was removed twice before doctors removed the cancer.
She then had to undergo her two-hour surgery while an orthopedic surgeon closed a large hole in her crown with 13 staples on her.
A mother of her three children, she says she had her first cancer scare when she was 19 years old. At that time, a biopsy revealed a precancerous mole.
After that, she tried to take better care of her skin, but said it was damaged. An autopsy was performed, 5 of which were precancerous and had the most recent and most severe melanoma on the scalp.
'I'm SCARRED'
Mary said: "I grew up in pools and lakes here in Texas because it's so hot here. Everyone gets skin cancer." You know about, but you don't.”
“When I got to high school, I used a tanning bed. My hair was always bronze and brown, but now I pay for it.
"I always had a lot of moles. I went to a dermatologist.
''They did several biopsies and one of them said it wasn't skin cancer.
"That's where it all started. I started to be more cautious, but the damage was not there."
'' At 6 months there are some scars [from removal].
"They were never melanomas, they were basal cells and severely dysplastic nevus. I mean, they're not cancers, but they can be cancers, so just do a bigger biopsy."
What are the symptoms of melanoma I should know about?
Mary has now unstitched her and her hair has already started to grow back, she says.
However, she has been warned that she may develop alopecia and hair loss around scars.
But for now, Mary I am recovering well and feel as if I was lucky enough to escape.
Mary added: “I have always had my kids go crazy because I lather up sunscreen and wear long sleeves, but now they are more aware and aware of how important that is.
"I'm not joking, I'm serious and not funny. Fortunately, I didn't need any further treatment.
"I have beautiful bronze skin. It's not worth it, it's not worth baking in the sun or getting a tan in bed because it can kill you.
``There are a lot of fake tanners out there these days if you want to go bronze for the weekend. Buy one of them, it's safer."
