In December 2025, Lisa Christian, a 61-year-old former florist from Tennessee, noticed a pin-sized dot on the right side of her nose that began to bleed in the shower. After a biopsy in March, she was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, a slow-growing form of skin cancer.
Urgent surgery required
Because the cancer had spread inside her face, Lisa needed extreme surgery to remove it. 'Just because the dot is little on the outside doesn’t mean it’s the same on the inside,' she said. 'That dot, the cancer, had gone to the cartilage of my nose, so it was all under the skin.'
In April 2026, surgeons cut a flap of skin from her forehead and pulled it down over her nose to reconstruct her face. 'They basically scalp you and pull the skin forward, so that when it goes onto your nose it keeps the blood flow,' she explained.
Emotional impact
The procedure left Lisa with a large scar and psychological trauma. '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,' she said. She felt like she was wearing a mask and was reluctant to leave home for fear of scaring children.
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 has now had three surgeries in total to help reconstruct her face and may need to undergo one more procedure.
Urging sun safety
Since her diagnosis, Lisa is now urging others to think twice about sitting out in the sun. 'When you’re 18 or 19 years old, you just say “I’ll just take care of my skin when I’m older.” No, you need to [take care of your skin then], or you’re going to have problems when you’re older,' she said. She hopes her photos, though graphic, will deter young women and girls from excessive sun exposure. '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.”'
Sun safety tips
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 an 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.
