Lisa was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma (Picture: Kennedy News & Media)
Growing up, Lisa Christian often felt self-conscious of her pale skin. Standing next to her olive-skinned sisters, the teenager would be embarrassed about her porcelain complexion in comparison.
‘If we went to prom and everyone put their dresses on, they’d all look like Barbie dolls, and I’d look like a ghost,’ the mum-of-one remembers.
Eventually, Lisa became convinced that a deep tan would ease her insecurities and help her ‘feel pretty.’
The teenager’s desire to get a ‘healthy tan’ sparked a decades-long habit of applying SPF and lying out in the sun so she could get a good colour.
For years, Lisa had no apparent issues — until last December, when the 61-year-old noticed a pin-sized dot on the right side of her nose begin to bleed in the shower.
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After getting the mark checked out and having a biopsy in March this year, the former florist received a devastating diagnosis: she had squamous cell carcinoma; a type of slow-growing form of skin cancer.
Lisa grew up feeling self-conscious about her skin (Picture: Kennedy News & Media)
However, Lisa’s cancer had spread inside her face, and she needed urgent, extreme surgery to have it removed. Not treated quickly, the cancer could kill her.
‘Just because the dot is little on the outside doesn’t mean it’s the same on the inside,’ she says. ‘That dot, the cancer, had gone to the cartilage of my nose, so it was all under the skin.’
Lisa, who lives in Tennessee, had to endure an operation that involved cutting a flap of skin from her forehead, which was dragged down and placed over her nose to reconstruct her face.
WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
‘They basically scalp you and pull the skin forward, so that when it goes onto your nose it keeps the blood flow,’ the mum explains.
The procedure, in April 2026, not only left Lisa with a large scar down her face but also huge psychological trauma.
Although life-saving, she admits that the surgery left her feeling like she was wearing a mask, making her reluctant to leave the house for fear of ‘scaring children’.
‘I feel like I can’t leave the house’ (Picture: Kennedy News & Media)
It was three days before Lisa saw her reflection in the mirror.
‘It was actually by accident that I saw myself. I had gone to the bathroom, and I went to brush my teeth and looked up; it was there,’ she remembers.
‘I cried. The hardest thing is, I’m not a vain person, but the isolation I feel… I’ve been in this house for months and not gone anywhere.’
Lisa also feels that her fears are justified, adding: ‘I order my groceries, and when they [delivery drivers] bring them, I walk out on my porch, and I don’t really think. But they look at me in shock.
‘Be happy with who you are and be happy with the complexion you have’ (Picture: Kennedy News & Media)
‘I feel like I can’t leave the house at the moment as I don’t want to scare some little kids, but then, on the other hand, if it scares a teenager and they don’t go in the sun, that’s good.’
Alongside the dot on her nose, Lisa also had a ‘dry spot’ above her lip removed, which also turned out to be squamous cell carcinoma. She’s now had three surgeries in total to help reconstruct her face and may need to undergo one more procedure.
‘I’m not worried about the scar tissue, but the emotional scars, knowing how they had cut up my face and feeling like I did it to myself — that’s a big one,’ she admits.
Squamous cell carcinoma
Symptoms can include:
A firm bump on the skin, called a nodule. The nodule might be the same color as the skin, or it might look different. It can look pink, red, black or brown, depending on skin color.
A flat sore with a scaly crust.
A new sore or raised area on an old scar or sore.
A rough, scaly patch on the lip that may become an open sore.
A sore or rough patch inside the mouth.
A raised patch or wartlike sore on or in the anus or on the genitals.
Since her skin cancer diagnosis, Lisa is now urging others to think twice about sitting out in the sun and urges them to protect their skin from a young age.
She says: ‘When you’re 18 or 19 years old, you just say “I’ll just take care of my skin when I’m older.”
The aftermath of the surgery had harrowing psychological effects (Picture: Kennedy News & Media)
‘No, you need to [take care of your skin then], or you’re going to have problems when you’re older.’
Lisa goes on to say that her photos may be ‘graphic,’ but ‘believes people need to see them, especially young women and girls.
‘A lot of the time they don’t think it’s going to happen to them. If it’s graphic enough, they may lie in the sun and think, “wait a minute, I remember what that girl’s nose looked like.”
‘Be happy with who you are and be happy with the complexion you [have]. Don’t feel the need to go out and tan in order to feel pretty.’
How to stay safe in the sun
The UK has seen unprecedented and record-breaking heatwaves this year. The NHS has shared sun safety tips, and stressed that you can still burn in the UK, even when it is cloudy.
Spend time in the shade between 11am and 3pm
Never burn
Cover up with suitable clothing and sunglasses, such as a wide-brimmed hat to cover the face, neck and ears
Take extra care with children
Keep babies under 6 months out of direct sunlight
Use at least factor 30 sunscreen – make sure to use enough and re-apply frequently. When buying sunscreen, the label should have a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 to protect against UVB and at least 4-star UVA protection
If you plan to be out in the sun long enough to risk burning, sunscreen needs to be applied twice: 30 minutes before going out, and just before going out
People with pale skin, freckles, many moles, red or fair hair, skin problems and a family history of skin cancer should be particularly careful
Cancer Research UK advises against people using sunbeds or sunlamps, as they can cause skin cancer, premature skin ageing, sunburnt skin, and eye irritation
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@metro.co.uk
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