Sunbed Fanatic Dies of Cancer

Added by James Morley on June 25, 2011

A solarium fanatic mother-of-three has died from cancer after discovering 19 tumours throughout her body, the Daily Mail reports.

 

39-year old Donna Ballantyne reportedly started using unmanned, coin-operated sunbeds at the age of 16. She regularly visited them until she turned 22, when she got married.

Before Mrs Ballantyne passed away she was quoted as saying: “The sunbeds I used were unmanned, which meant there was no one there to advise me how long to go on for or how powerful the tubes were.”

She added: “There were warnings about sunbeds but I don’t remember anyone saying I might end up with cancer.”

Mrs Ballantyne first had a melanoma removed some nine years ago, after which she was told she would be fine. However, she found a cancer lump under her arm in 2006.

After an unsuccessful emergency surgery to remove the lump, 19 tumours were found in her liver, stomach, leg and neck. She then underwent chemotherapy in an attempt at shrinking the tumours.

This treatment was also unsuccessful, and in 2007 Mrs Ballantyne and her husband decided to travel to the US to seek out more advanced methods for fighting the tumours.

In her fight against the deadly disease Mrs Ballantyne became a courageous campaigner for raising awareness about cancer. During this time she raised more than $1.5 million for charities.