Cancer devastated me – but I started shaking when I realised my 20-year-old TATTOO could be to blame

The Sun

10 hours ago

THE row of hearts tattooed around Melanie Rushforth's left arm symbolises her love for her family. Her mum Margaret, whose middle name was Rose, is remembered by a flower on her right shoulder.
Melanie, 58, has been getting inked for 20 years - but regrets it all, knowing what she does now.
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The administrator is midway through treatment for lymphoma – a type of blood cancer.
In March, a study by the University of Southern Denmark found a link between tattoos and an increased risk of developing blood cancers, including lymphoma.
In fact, the increased risk could be as much as 170 per cent, something Melanie wasn't aware of during her various tatts between 2005 and 2016.
It was only after being diagnosed in April that she became aware of the connection.
'In February I noticed a lump on my neck,' Melanie, who is married to Ian, 62, an HGV driver, tells Sun Health.
'At first, I didn't think much of it. But I have an underactive thyroid, so I decided to get it checked just in case.
'The doctor didn't seem too concerned. He ordered some blood tests and told me to come back in four weeks if the lump didn't go down.
'The blood tests were fine; he thought it might have been glandular fever, but that came back negative.
'By the time the four weeks were up, the lump had gone, so I didn't go back.'
But two weeks later, Melanie's lump returned - much bigger and more painful than before - so she made another appointment with her GP.
People with tattoos have a 21% higher risk of lymphoma blood cancer - even if they're tiny, study suggests
'I thankfully saw the same doctor, and that's when he first mentioned the possibility of cancer,' she says.
'He said it might be nothing but sent me for an ultrasound and possibly a biopsy.'
The scans showed Melanie had lymphoma, a type of blood cancer that originates in the lymphatic system.
'I was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma – DLBCL,' she says.
One of the main symptoms of Melanie's condition is swollen lymph nodes, but others include pain in the tummy, chest or bone, night sweats, a high temperature and unexplained weight loss.
Melanie, who works at the University of Lincoln, says: 'It's in one spot on my neck and classified as stage one.
'Thankfully, it was caught early so I'm on a chemotherapy regimen called R-CHOP which is six sessions, one every three weeks.
'I had my third session on June 30 and treatment should finish by late August or early September, when I might switch to radiotherapy depending on how things go.'
While Melanie's consultant told her not to turn to Google to check her diagnosis, it was while researching the condition she found the link between tattoos and cancer.
The latest study, published in BMC Public Health, analysed the health data of 5,900 twins born between 1960 and 1996 up until 2017.
Over the course of several decades, the risk of lymphoma - a type of blood cancer that affects the immune system - was found to be three times higher for those with large tatts.
'For larger tattoos – those bigger than the palm of a hand, the hazard was 140 per cent,' study author assistant professor Signe Bedsted Clemmensen said.
'We found that people with tattoos had a 60 per cent higher hazard – a measure of 'immediate risk' – of developing skin cancer compared to those without tattoos.'
Prof Clemmensen says the study findings are a long time overdue.
'Our study found evidence of associations between having tattoos and development of lymphoma and skin cancer,' she says.
'While this doesn't prove causation, it highlights a potential health concern that warrants further investigation.
'It has long been known that tattoo ink doesn't just stay in the skin. It also accumulates in nearby lymph nodes.'
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She explains that this is one of the potential mechanisms that could explain why tattoos might lead to cancer.
'Firstly, there are carcinogenic properties of substances used in tattoo ink,' Prof Clemmensen says.
'Secondly, we suspect that tattoo ink as a foreign substance can cause chronic inflammation in the lymph nodes, which over time can lead to abnormal cell growth and an increased risk of cancer.
'Despite repeated calls from health authorities for research into the potential long-term health effects of tattooing, there were no scientific studies addressing this issue when we began planning our study.
'That gap in knowledge is what prompted us to take a closer look.'
What are the signs of lymphoma?
LYMPHOMA is a term for cancer that starts in the lymph system - a network of vessels and glands that spans your body.
There are two main kinds of lymphoma – Hodgkin Lymphoma and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.
Lymphoma can cause many different symptoms, depending on which type of lymphoma it is and where it develops in the body.
The most typical signs are:
Swollen lymph nodes, such as in the neck, armpit or groin area
Night sweats
Extreme tiredness
Itching
Unexplained weight loss
Fever
Excessive bleeding, such as nosebleeds, heavy periods and spots of blood under the skin
Other signs of lymphoma in a more localised area include:
Swelling of the stomach, loss of appetite and other abdominal symptoms
Coughing, shortness of breath, or chest pain
Dr Rachel Orritt, health information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: 'There isn't enough evidence to say that tattoos increase people's cancer risk, and more research is needed.
'This is a difficult area to study, because there are lots of different possible ingredients in tattoo ink, making it tricky to understand the effects.
'If people are concerned about their cancer risk, there are proven steps they can take to reduce it.
'These include not smoking, keeping a healthy weight, and enjoying the sun safely.'
For Melanie though, the realisations that her tattoos could have caused or contributed to her condition has been incredibly difficult to deal with.
She says: 'My husband and I were searching everything, and I came across a couple of articles linking tattoos to lymphoma or blood cancers. It understandably really worried me.
'I have four tattoos and I'd planned to get another this year to cover a scar on my leg.
'I was shaking when I read those articles though. I started to wonder, 'Have I done this to myself?'
'It added a whole new layer of stress.'
'Like a phoenix rising from the ashes'
While Melanie's diagnosis could be entirely coincidental, Prof Clemmensen suggests the research is too hard to ignore.
She says more education is needed so people can make informed choices.
'Ultimately, it's a personal decision,' she says. 'Each individual must consider whether they're comfortable with the potential health risks associated with tattooing.
'As with smoking, alcohol consumption, or highly processed foods, it's important that people have access to reliable information.
'Our role as researchers is to provide that evidence so individuals – and policymakers – can make informed decisions.'
Melanie had planned to get a post-cancer tattoo, which she is now scrapping.
'It was of a phoenix rising from the ashes,' she says.
'It felt symbolic - about survival, rebirth, and strength - but I won't get anything done for the foreseeable future – not after reading the study.
'I love body art. It's a personal expression, but I won't get any more tattoos.'
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