Mum-of-two's sunbed warning after itchy freckle led to devastating diagnosis

A mum who noticed an 'itchy' freckle whilst on a girls holiday in Benidorm was given a devastating cancer diagnosis when she finally got it checked a year later. Shannon Masterton was diagnosed with melanoma - a form of skin cancer - in January 2020 aged 26.

She has now issued a warning over the dangers of sunbeds after she admitted tanning herself twice a week in the run up to summer. The mum-of-two from Northern Ireland started using sunbeds in her early twenties so that she could have a nice tan before her holidays.

But after using them before a trip to Benidorm she noticed a slight change on her skin. Shannon, now 29, said: "It was more like a freckle than a mole and when I was on holiday it started to feel itchy. But I didn't think too much of it.

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"I never thought it would lead to me being diagnosed with skin cancer. You just never think it will happen to you."

The retail assistant said her friend, who is a nurse, told her to get it checked out but Shannon admits she put it off and didn't get round to it. By the following year, Shannon started using sunbeds again before her next holiday.

Shannon started noticing the same itchy feeling she'd had the previous year, but this time, it eventually turned into a burning sensation. She said that the fear of finding out what she might be told by the doctors was putting her off going to get it checked out.

Shannon added: "After a while, the area of my leg where I felt the burning sensation started to go numb. At our annual Christmas girls night out in 2019, my friend realised I still hadn't been to get it check out and forced me to go on the following Monday morning.

"She is truly the