Swansea TikToker given a year to live after excessively using sun beds

Jak Howell, a former sun bed “addict” from Swansea, was diagnosed with stage three melanoma at the age of 21 in 2021 after using a sun bed five times a week for 18 minutes at a time.

After Jak’s diagnosis, and two failed surgeries to remove tumours from his lower back and leg, he was given a year to live.

He said: “when they told me the surgery hadn’t worked and the last treatment was a final push, I’d been told if that didn’t work I’d have a year to live”.

According to Cancer Research UK, 75 in 100 people who are diagnosed with stage three melanoma will survive cancer for five years or more. However, after Jak underwent immunotherapy, a treatment where the immune system attacks the cancerous cells, he received the news he was officially cancer free in December 2022.

via SWNS

The cause of Jak’s cancer was identified by the doctors as being “99.999 per cent” because of his sun bed habit he had since the age of 16 of why his cancer was “so severe”.

“As soon as I knew that I knew I had to get message out about using sun beds,” Jak said.

The British Journal of Dermatology concluded through a study that a ban on sun beds, or “indoor tanning”, would result in 1,206 fewer cases of melanoma and 3,087 fewer cases of other forms of keratinocyte cancers. They state that this ban would be an “effective use of healthcare resources”.

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Since his diagnosis, treatment and recovery, Jak has turned to TikTok in order to raise awareness of the dangers of using sun beds and to spread the message that “skin cancer isn’t just a mole being removed, it’s so much more complex than that”.

via SWNS

In April 2021, Jak found a “really itchy” patch of skin which then began to bleed. His GP said: “I don’t want to see you, go straight to the hospital,” Jak said this caused “immediate alarm bells”.

Through his TikTok page, and the accumulation 56,000 followers, Jak publishes content about the causes and signs of skin cancer to his audience.

According to a survey conducted by the British Association of Dermatologists, one in 25 check skin for signs of skin cancer, with only three quarters of people say they wouldn’t know what to look for when checking.

The Cancer Research UK website provides tips and advice of what to check when you are looking for signs of skin cancer with stressing the importance of knowing your body, therefore being aware of any changes which may happen to your skin. Cancer Research UK also provides pictures of the different signs of skin cancer, providing aid to those who are unsure, which Jak has mirrored.

Not only does Jak provide support and advice for those who are unsure about what the signs of skin cancer are, he has said “recently more than ever I’ve been trying to push the late effects of mental health having cancer”.

Jak’s shared post on TikTok, he wrote: “every single day I fear having cancer again,” as well as, “I spent most of my teenage years wishing for a way out and then as soon I turned 20 I was diagnose with cancer and spent all of that wishing to stay alive”.

He added: “It caused me severe distress, my anxiety I don’t think will ever settle back to a normal level”. He adds, “men don’t speak out as much, I encourage everyone to speak. A problem shared is a problem halved. The biggest problem is you take it on yourself”.

via SWNS

Now, Jak has promoted safe self-tanning products to his audience and continues to raise awareness for skin cancer.

Featured image via SWNS