A 30-year-old woman from Watford is calling on the UK government to ban sunbeds after a brief attempt to get a pre-holiday tan led to her being diagnosed with stage four skin cancer.
Lily Murphy said she used sunbeds fewer than 10 times, hoping to start a tan before travelling to South East Asia with friends. She was just 23 when she was first diagnosed with melanoma. After initially being given the all-clear, the disease returned in 2023 and had spread to her lungs and neck. Now living with stage four melanoma, Lily is expected to require treatment for the rest of her life.
Lily works as an administrative clerk in the dermatology department at Watford General Hospital. She sees more and more young people being referred for cancer biopsies, many of whom have a history of sunbed use. Motivated by both her personal battle with cancer and her frontline NHS role, she has launched a petition to ban sunbeds in the UK, following the lead of countries like Brazil and Australia.
“I’ve probably used sunbeds for less than an hour in total,” she said. “Just going on a sunbed for six minutes can change your whole life. And it costs the NHS too — immunotherapy can cost £15,000 per round. If I could stop just one person using sunbeds to save them from going through what I’ve been through, it would be a miracle.”
Lily’s cancer journey began in 2018 when she noticed a mole that had darkened and started bleeding. She was initially told by doctors that it wasn’t serious. Reassured, she went ahead with her travels to Vietnam and Bali, using sunbeds beforehand to “start” her tan. “It was literally just a couple of minutes here and there, just to get the tan going,” she explained. Although she used sun cream while abroad, she admits she wasn’t as cautious as she is now.
After returning to the UK, she sought a second opinion. That’s when she was urgently referred to the two-week cancer pathway. The mole was removed, and two weeks later she received a diagnosis of stage 1B melanoma — an early stage where the cancer hasn’t yet spread. She was devastated but felt lucky it had been caught early. A further surgery and lymph node biopsy confirmed the cancer hadn’t spread, and she believed she had beaten it.
“I thought, I’ve got another chance at life. I just wanted to go out, enjoy myself, go on holidays, spend time with people, and appreciate life because it’s so short.”
But in January 2023, after a weekend away in Gloucestershire, Lily started feeling tired and developed back and chest pain. When she struggled to breathe, she knew something was wrong. Despite several trips to A&E, her symptoms were dismissed as anxiety. Eventually, through her mother, who also works at Watford General, she was referred for tests in another department. Scans revealed masses in her lungs and neck, confirming the return and spread of melanoma.
Doctors explained that melanoma can, in rare cases, spread via the blood and may not always show up in early scans. Lily began immunotherapy in April 2023 but struggled to tolerate it. Each round cost the NHS £15,000. She later tried two forms of oral chemotherapy but developed a severe allergic reaction, including a rash in her throat, and then sepsis, which led to hospitalisation.
In February 2025, she started a new treatment that has already begun shrinking her cancer, even though she’s only able to manage four out of the recommended 12 tablets per day. “I’m taking a break from treatment at the moment because it’s just too much on my body,” she said.
Now easing back into work, Lily is again helping to book cancer biopsies. She finds it emotionally difficult, but also rewarding. “As much as it’s triggering, it’s rewarding — I can help people because I know what that fear feels like.”
Her petition, titled Ban Sun Beds to Protect Against Skin Cancer in the UK, launched in May and has already received over 700 signatures. “It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing,” she said. “Every day I’m getting biopsy requests where the patient has a history of using sunbeds. Sunbeds are a known cancer risk. Banning them would save lives — and save the NHS money.”
Lily also believes better education is needed, especially to counter the influence of social media and the glamorisation of tanning. “Your tan is semi-permanent, but your life should be permanent,” she said.
A spokesperson for West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust praised Lily’s courage and determination: “Lily is an inspirational colleague who continues to work tirelessly for the Trust and our patients while undergoing treatment. We are in awe of her phenomenal work ethic and spirit and send her all our support during this challenging time.”
Related Topics:
