A beauty entrepreneur who spent her youth "slathering" herself in tanning oil has shared a stark warning after her skin cancer returned a decade after she believed she was cured.
From Sun Worship to a Serious Diagnosis
Maddy Balderson, 38, grew up on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula and now lives on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Her teenage years were defined by sunbaking, using tanning beds, and coating herself in oil, despite having fair skin and her parents' warnings.
"I absolutely did all the wrong things as a teenager," she confessed. "I'd be down at the beach or by the pool literally just slathering and roasting myself." She believed her ability to tan quickly meant her skin could handle the sun, a common but dangerous misconception.
At age 22, she backpacked through Europe and Thailand with a friend, spending countless days in the sun without SPF protection or hats. The first warning sign came in 2014, when she was 26. A facialist spotted a small, discoloured patch under her jawline, about the size of a pinkie nail, that would bleed.
A Decade-Long Battle Takes a Sinister Turn
A biopsy confirmed it was infiltrating basal cell carcinoma (BCC), a deeper subtype. She underwent Mohs surgery and, after close monitoring, was given the all-clear. For ten years, she was diligent with sun protection and six-monthly skin checks.
This year, however, her beauty therapist noticed a strange "white shadow" around the old scar during a treatment, and it was bleeding. Further biopsies revealed the cancer had returned in the same spot and had grown to the size of a 50-cent piece.
Maddy underwent day surgery in November. Due to the tumour's size, surgeons had to perform a large surgical flap under her chin, leaving a scar that has pulled her skin tight and limited neck movement.
A More Aggressive Threat Emerges
The worst news came from the post-surgery pathology report. Her cancer had transformed into morphoeic basal cell carcinoma, an aggressive form that spreads by burrowing deep into the skin.
"They've now told me it's a worse type and it's on my nerves," Maddy said. This subtype, known for perineural invasion, has a high recurrence rate and can affect nerve function, potentially causing facial drooping. Her plastic surgeon has warned she will likely need radiotherapy.
"I'm terrified," she admitted. "I get my skin checked every six months… and it's never been picked up. It could have been one tiny little cell that didn't get removed 10 years ago."
Now the founder of fake tan company Luna Bronze, Maddy is urging everyone to take skin changes seriously. "Check the spot. Wear the SPF. Don't ignore anything," she said, "because I never thought something so tiny could turn into this."
