When model Danielle Lloyd tearfully revealed on Instagram that she had skin cancer, mum Tiffany Neidlands felt instant recognition. Running her finger over the surgery scar on her left arm, she swallowed hard, as Danielle warned her followers to "stay off sunbeds".
Aged 41, like mum-of-five Danielle, she also has melanoma - considered the deadliest form of skin cancer.
This was confirmed by letter earlier this month, after the offending mole was removed just before Christmas. And she needs further precautionary surgery to remove more of her skin in case any stray cancer cells remain.
Flicking through holiday photos - many showing her sunburnt or with a deep tan, Tiffany says, "I look at that happy smiling girl, tanned in her bikini, and want to shake her. I'd love to go back and warn her of the dangers that sun worshipping would later inflict on her body.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1740460799/articles/KGBSDXVCW1740470159503/0247602461.jpg]
"But back then skin cancer wasn't spoken about so much and when you're young you never think it will happen to you.
"I'm speaking out now to raise awareness. I'm fully aware that it was self-inflicted, 86% of skin cancers are preventable.
"I can't go backwards now but I can, hopefully, stop others from making the same mistakes. It's why I'm so glad Danielle has spoken out and warned people about the dangers - her story mirrors mine in many ways."
A divorcee and mum to Sophia, nine, and six-year-old Sebastian, Tiffany, who works in adult social services, says her photos catalogue many of her happiest times in places like Greece and Mexico. But, after her diagnosis - luckily, her cancer hasn't spread - and seeing Danielle's heartfelt Instagram post, she can't believe she risked her life for a tan.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1740460799/articles/KGBSDXVCW1740470159503/4000060040.jpg]
And when Danielle told her fans, "Please guys look after your skin, stay off sunbeds, wear factor 50 and just look after yourself, because you never know what's going to happen," Tiffany winced.
Recalling many holidays spent lying in the sun in skimpy bikinis, she says, "My first 'sunbathing' holiday was in Ibiza, aged 18, when I'd just finished my A-levels. I went with a group of friends, we didn't have a care in the world. We'd spend our days lying by the pool reading or playing around on the beach.
"I didn't even think of the dangers. I'm fair skinned so I burnt, but it soon turned brown. Back then we all loved tanning so much we'd stick out our arms to see who was the brownest at the end of the day."
Tiffany continued going away on holiday three or four times a year, before she had her children- always to hot destinations, joking that she feels "solar-powered".
She even admits she went on sunbeds a handful of times before her trips, so she could get a pre-tan. "I never went on for long, or that often, so I didn't think it was dangerous. I was wrong," she says.
After turning 32, by then a mum, her sunshine holidays were reduced to once a year, when she would be forensically diligent about protecting her children's skin from UV rays.
She says, "I'd slather the children in factor 50 and put sun proof vests on them, then I'd lie there, wearing factor 20, sunbathing. I can't believe I did it. Especially as I'm so pale and have a lot of moles - which is a risk factor for cancer."
Then, last summer, Tiffany noticed a mole on her forearm which she hadn't clocked before. She kept an eye on it and, by the end of October, she was sure it had grown and changed shape, so she went to her GP.
She says, "I'd been for mole checks before, so I wasn't really worried when he put me on the two-week referral cancer pathway. I saw a photographer in November but by December, when I went to the dermatologist, I was very worried. It had gro...
Aged 41, like mum-of-five Danielle, she also has melanoma - considered the deadliest form of skin cancer.
This was confirmed by letter earlier this month, after the offending mole was removed just before Christmas. And she needs further precautionary surgery to remove more of her skin in case any stray cancer cells remain.
Flicking through holiday photos - many showing her sunburnt or with a deep tan, Tiffany says, "I look at that happy smiling girl, tanned in her bikini, and want to shake her. I'd love to go back and warn her of the dangers that sun worshipping would later inflict on her body.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1740460799/articles/KGBSDXVCW1740470159503/0247602461.jpg]
"But back then skin cancer wasn't spoken about so much and when you're young you never think it will happen to you.
"I'm speaking out now to raise awareness. I'm fully aware that it was self-inflicted, 86% of skin cancers are preventable.
"I can't go backwards now but I can, hopefully, stop others from making the same mistakes. It's why I'm so glad Danielle has spoken out and warned people about the dangers - her story mirrors mine in many ways."
A divorcee and mum to Sophia, nine, and six-year-old Sebastian, Tiffany, who works in adult social services, says her photos catalogue many of her happiest times in places like Greece and Mexico. But, after her diagnosis - luckily, her cancer hasn't spread - and seeing Danielle's heartfelt Instagram post, she can't believe she risked her life for a tan.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1740460799/articles/KGBSDXVCW1740470159503/4000060040.jpg]
And when Danielle told her fans, "Please guys look after your skin, stay off sunbeds, wear factor 50 and just look after yourself, because you never know what's going to happen," Tiffany winced.
Recalling many holidays spent lying in the sun in skimpy bikinis, she says, "My first 'sunbathing' holiday was in Ibiza, aged 18, when I'd just finished my A-levels. I went with a group of friends, we didn't have a care in the world. We'd spend our days lying by the pool reading or playing around on the beach.
"I didn't even think of the dangers. I'm fair skinned so I burnt, but it soon turned brown. Back then we all loved tanning so much we'd stick out our arms to see who was the brownest at the end of the day."
Tiffany continued going away on holiday three or four times a year, before she had her children- always to hot destinations, joking that she feels "solar-powered".
She even admits she went on sunbeds a handful of times before her trips, so she could get a pre-tan. "I never went on for long, or that often, so I didn't think it was dangerous. I was wrong," she says.
After turning 32, by then a mum, her sunshine holidays were reduced to once a year, when she would be forensically diligent about protecting her children's skin from UV rays.
She says, "I'd slather the children in factor 50 and put sun proof vests on them, then I'd lie there, wearing factor 20, sunbathing. I can't believe I did it. Especially as I'm so pale and have a lot of moles - which is a risk factor for cancer."
Then, last summer, Tiffany noticed a mole on her forearm which she hadn't clocked before. She kept an eye on it and, by the end of October, she was sure it had grown and changed shape, so she went to her GP.
She says, "I'd been for mole checks before, so I wasn't really worried when he put me on the two-week referral cancer pathway. I saw a photographer in November but by December, when I went to the dermatologist, I was very worried. It had gro...
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New UK (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 03, 2025