I Paid for My Lifelong Love of Tanning with a Melanoma Diagnosis — at Age 26

As told to Erica RimlingerI used to be the person who showed up to the Christmas party every year bronzed and glowing with a fresh tan. A tan was part of my regular beauty routine, and I felt incomplete without one. I never dreamed I’d walk into my longtime tanning salon and cancel my membership, but that day arrived.The cancellation form asked me to provide a reason. In big letters, I wrote: MELANOMA. I was 26 years old, newly diagnosed with one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer and furious with myself for ignoring the warnings in the small print of my contract. The salon employee looked