Cancer-causing solariums caught illegally operating in Geelong

Cancer-causing solariums are illegally operating inside homes in Geelong, an undercover Geelong Advertiser investigation has revealed.

Illegal cancer-causing solariums are covertly operating in homes in the region, an undercover Geelong Advertiser investigation has revealed.

It comes as a local mum who regularly used a solarium and was diagnosed with stage four melanoma warned of the potentially deadly consequences of people’s desperate desire for a tan.

Tanning bed owners are flouting strict regulations and putting profits over people’s health by taking appointments via social media for residents to use their black market sun-beds.

Posing undercover, the Addy booked a 30 minute tanning session for $30 via Instagram for a solarium operating illegally inside an Armstrong Creek home.

Upon arrival, a reporter was led into the spare room with a canopy solarium inside.

Antibacterial wipes, baby wipes, deodorant and facial sunscreen was provided.

Protective glasses and two towels were laid out on the bed.

The owner only accepted cash and warned the reporter to “keep (the solarium) on the down low”.

The solarium had a 30 minute timer built-in and the reporter was told to set a second timer of their phone for 15 minutes, alerting them to rotate for an even tan.

A solarium was found illegally operating in Armstrong Creek.

Wipes, deodorant and facial sunscreen was provided.

Solariums were also found operating in central Geelong and in the western suburbs of Melbourne.

The Addy discovered people searching for sun-beds to use in Geelong via an online, private page, which is a haven for illegal operators to advertise.

“Has anybody got a bed available for use in Geelong?” one user posted.

Cancer Council Victoria’s head of SunSmart Emma Glassenbury said those who used solariums were exposing their skin to high levels of ultraviolet radiation.

“There is evidence that solarium use before the age of 35 leads to a 59 per cent greater risk of melanoma than those who do not use solariums,” she said.

“We often hear very little effort is made by illegal operators to provide safety information as the health of the solarium user is not their priority.”

Jennifer Thulborn, 60, was a solarium user from the age of 18 to 26 and has been battling melanoma since she was 30.

The mother of four from Hamlyn Heights would spend typically between 20 and 30 minutes inside the sun-bed each visit, despite feeling claustrophobic inside.

“I felt like I was in a coffin but I was so desperate to get a tan,” Ms Thulborn said.

“I believed it was far safer to use a solarium rather than sun baking.”

Jennifer Thulborn used a solarium when she was younger. Picture: Alan Barber

Ms Thulborn would typically buy a pack of 10 sessions, which cost about $50, and would use them throughout during a month.

“I would really struggle to stay in there but I would push myself because I really wanted a tan,” she said.

“I would even put paper towel on the solarium to be able to finish my time in there because my back got so hot.

“(Solariums) used to be sold as a good way to get a base tan and that is the biggest load of bulls***.”

When she was 30-years-old and pregnant with her second child, Ms Thulborn noticed a black spot on her upper back.

“I had heard of the word melanoma but I didn’t really know what it was,” she said.

The melanoma was 1.55mm deep in her skin and she underwent surgery to have it removed but there was a 25 per cent chance it could have spread through her body.

“I was only 30 and I could have died,” she said.

Ms Thulborn had stopped using solariums and laying out in the sun after her diagnosis but when she was 47, she started to feel fatigued and “not quite right”.

“Next thing I knew, I was diagnosed with a large brain tumour … it was stage four melanoma,” she said.

“Doctors also found another tumour in my lung.

“My life expectancy was 10 or 12 months.

“I had four teenager children at that stage … I thought they were about to lose their mum.”

Ms Thulborn underwent surgery and targeted drug therapy.

But 12 months later, two brain tumours had returned and Ms Thulborn underwent surgery and radiation.

“My whole life has been impacted by melanoma because I sunbaked and used solariums,” she said.

In total, Ms Thulborn has survived eight brain tumours, one lymph node tumour and multiple tumours in her lungs.

She has had five basal cell carcinomas removed from her face in the last seven years, including one this year.

Basal cell carcinomas are a type of skin cancer that begin in the basal cells, which produce new skin cells as old ones die.

A Victorian Department of Health spokesman said: “Since (2015), we have seized and destroyed solarium beds across Victoria and prosecuted people for operating illegal commercial solariums.”

According to the department, 37 illegal tanning beds have been seized since they were outlawed

In February 2019, a person was convicted in the Geelong Magistrates Court for operating a commercial solarium.

The person pleaded guilty, was placed on a community corrections order for 24 months and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid community service.

“We will continue to crack down on any individual putting lives at risk by commercially operating these dangerous machines,” a department spokesman said.

Cancer Council Victoria said it supported the current legislation in place.

“It the rogue illegal operators who are the problem,” Ms Glassenbury said.

Ms Thulborn said the desire for a tan in her early years stemmed from being “extremely insecure”.

“I didn’t want to be the pasty girl so I was trying my hardest to get a tan,” she said.

“The Victorian Government needs to continue to rigorously monitor and persecute illegal solarium operators.”

Ms Thulborn has now been cleared of melanoma for seven years.

She now receives a brain MRI and CT scan every six months at the Melanoma Institute in Sydney.

She urged everyone to get their skin checked and to love the skin they are in.

“Early detection can save your life … a tan is not worth dying for.”

Originally published as Cancer-causing solariums caught illegally operating in Geelong