Q. Cassidy, can you tell us about your experience with sun safety growing up?
A: My name is Cassidy, I’m 29 years old and grew up in Gippsland, Victoria.
Growing up, my mum was always super paranoid about sun safety and so we were always spotted wearing hats and sunscreen (even in the shade!).
I remember one time when I was younger, getting badly burnt to the point of blistering when I was in the care of another family member and also another time when I was about 16 years old.
Not thinking much more about it, my skin cancer journey didn’t really begin until I was 19 and having a mole removed which was classed as a pre-melenoma.
Q. Your diagnosis almost slipped under the radar… what made you get a second opinion?
A: A few years after my mole was removed I noticed another mole on my toe with a dark spot in it, after being warned about the bad cells that had developed the last time, I went to see a skin specialist. After inspecting the mole, the specialist said it was all fine and I was too young to have skin cancer. I wasn’t happy with this answer though. Something didn’t sit right. So I went to see my GP who took a biopsy and sure enough it was stage 1 melanoma. I was then referred to Peter Mac where they took a further perimeter and required a skin graft. From then on, I committed to having regular skin checks with Peter Mac and over the years, they were all clear!
Q. So once you got the “all clear”, were you safe from skin cancer?
A: By 2017, I noticed a light pink bump on my face, with the skin around it red and raised. I went to see a doctor—who wasn’t my regular GP—and after just a quick look, they said, “I don’t know what that is, here’s a script for steroids to reduce the swelling.” I felt uneasy like something wasn’t right, so I went back to my GP and asked for it to be removed. Since it was on my face, he referred me to a specialist. When the results came back, my heart sank—it was a BCC (Basal Cell Carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer).
I was immediately anxious and full of worry. That moment felt like the start of every young woman's worst nightmare.
The local specialist removed a perimeter around the spot, but the cells were still bad. It was then that I was referred to Peter Mac, and things started to feel very real.
Q. What treatments were you given with Peter Mac?
A: At Peter Mac, I underwent several procedures. They initially took a further margin around the area, but the results still weren’t good. The surgeon had to remove my tragus and as much skin as possible to stitch my face back together, but unfortunately, those results came back bad too.
The next step was removing another chunk of skin, and they kept the wound open while waiting for the results. That was the longest week of my life—I cried the whole time, anxiously waiting. Thankfully, the results were finally positive. After that, I had a skin graft to help reconstruct the area and put my face back together.
Q. What has your skin cancer journey taught you?
A: That mumma knows best ;) but seriously, I am so thankful for my mum forever making me paranoid of the sun, we haven’t had skin cancer in the family before, so it’s like she just knew!
I also feel like this journey has made me think deeply about what beauty trends I want to follow and which come at an expense.
I once had a friend recommend the solarium, saying you’ll quickly get colour there….. NO EFFING WAY! I’ll continue fake tanning for the rest of my life… especially when there are clean, non-toxic sunless tanners like Sontse available.
But all in all, I think the greatest lesson I’ve learnt is to trust our guts because it’s scary to think that I’ll be 30 in 3 months, but if I hadn’t discovered the melanoma, would I still be alive?
Q. What changes have you made to your lifestyle after your whole experience?
A: I sunscreen every day regardless of the weather. I also wear a hat often… (thankfully there are so many cute hats out there these days!). Oh, and on a beach day, you’ll find me under an umbrella! I never succumb to the temptation to sunbake.
Q. If you could share one piece of advice to those reading this, what would you say?
A: Be proactive, not reactive. Early checks are essential and if you are concerned about a spot earlier or in-between your usual visit, trust your gut and get it checked or removed. You would much rather have a small scar than a larger scar or possibly death later!
For me personally, if there is anything I would have done differently, knowing what I know today, it would have been not procrastinating in getting my skin checked and moles removed.
Hear from Cassidy on Sh*t Talkers Podcast
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Written By Liana Pantalone – Beauty & Skincare Copywriter at Climbing Vine Co.
