My career as an actor and presenter means I’m always in the public eye. I guess this contributed to me feeling pressured to look a certain way – part of this was having a year-round glow.

That’s why I started using solariums on a weekly basis. No-one forced me to use them or to be tanned – it was completely my choice. And, to be honest, I knew they weren’t healthy. But, like most people, I never thought I’d get ill from it.

I started using solariums when I was about 21 and stopped as soon as I found out I had skin cancer. I was just 23 years old. My illness was not the norm for a sun-related skin cancer, which is why the doctors say it was solarium-related.

It developed from a little cut on my stomach that appeared to have healed. It then turned into a freckle. After six months, it turned into a pink cyst the size of a five cent coin. I don’t think I would’ve noticed it grow so much had I not been working on the Mel Brook’s musical The Producers at the time. Wearing revealing costumes on stage meant it was hard to miss!

I had the cyst looked at by well-known and respected dermatologist Dr John Kelly. The diagnosis was skin cancer. I remember the day like it was yesterday. I sat down in an inner-city alleyway and called my family and one of my closest friends. I couldn’t stop crying.

I was shocked, scared and embarrassed that I’d brought this on myself. I was so ashamed to tell my parents (they never knew I used solariums), and worried that I’d cause them such concern and heartache. 

I had the cancer removed by a plastic surgeon and now there’s a scar on my stomach that will be with me for the rest of my life – a small price to pay for what could’ve been much worse. These days, I get my skin checked yearly, just to make sure everything’s fine. I like to call it my yearly mole patrol!

There’s still this stigma in Australia that ‘brown is better’. When you have a tan, people comment on how ‘healthy’ you look – quite ironic really! Knowing what we know now about the sun and the damage it can cause, we need to embrace a classic, more natural-looking skin colour.

You might be thinking, ‘It won’t happen to me’, but anyone who regularly exposes themself to the sun and solariums is at risk. I learnt the hard way. I’ll never go to a solarium again, and it angers me that people still do.

Yes, we need sunlight. But, the amount we need to maintain a healthy balance is easily obtained from day-to-day activities, such as walking to the bus stop or ducking out for lunch.

Skin cancer is a very real and serious issue now. If my experience isn’t enough to scare you, then think about the irreversible premature ageing and damage to your skin. We live in a very image-focused society – isn’t this the reason you think you need to be bronzed to be a babe?

Well, think about wrinkles, reduced collagen levels, blotchiness, sunspots and pigmentation, to name a few. Stay out of solariums, wear SPF 30+ everyday and your skin will thank you for it!”

Stay safe in the sun

* Wear sun-protective clothing that covers as much of your body as possible.

* Wear a broad-brimmed hat that covers your face and neck. Seek shade whenever possible.

* Wear wrap-around sunglasses.

* Apply a SPF 30+ broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen every two hours.

Take action

Click here to read about CLEO’s anti-solarium campaign, then sign our petition and join the fight to save young people’s lives!